The ASF, launched in October last year, will now act as the engine for change in cabin waste as part of the Global Tourism Plastic Initiative (GTPI).
The GTPI aims to tackle plastic pollution and ensure those materials which are used are safely reused, recycled or composted, keeping materials circulating in the economy and out of the environment. Signatory/participating organisations will, in time agree commitments that support the elimination of problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging, moving from single-use to reusable models and towards 100% of plastic packaging being reusable recyclable and compostable by 2025.
The ASF brings together airlines, F&B and amenity suppliers, airline caterers and airport waste management providers and is now tasked with putting forward a global standard for cabin waste packaging. The standard will seek to unite all airlines, governments, caterers and suppliers in the use of the same cabin packaging substrates, segregate off loaded waste to the same standards, and facilitate optimal recycling and regeneration systems at all major airports.
Matt Crane, CEO Monty’s Bakehouse, and a member of the ASF, says: “Everyone knows there is a problem but no one has looked to exactly quantify it end to end and see which solutions are really the correct ones to make. As an industry we are struggling to know what is the right long term solution to a growing problem and some of the short term moves we are seeing in on-board packaging changes are not necessarily sensible and could end up causing greater harm than good. We need concrete facts and proper guidance for both airlines and suppliers. Working with the GTPI brings our sector into a well-established framework of environmental expertise from the World Tourism Organisation, the UN Environmental Programme and the respected Ellen Macarthur Foundation.”
“If we truly understand what we are using as an industry and look carefully at how we can recapture and segregate it to regenerate it, we can all be empowered to pick the right substrates, lobby governments and airports for proper recycling systems for those substrates or find composting or regeneration options. “
The research is due to be completed in the next nine months and will report back to the ASF which is committed to sharing its findings openly with the industry as a whole.
