Do airlines recycle plastic bottles, cans etc?

[Mattg]

I've lost count of the number of small plastic bottles of water I've received on flights. Given the scale at which airlines operate, they must go through millions of plastic bottles and cups, soft drink cans, paper cups, etc. every month.

I'd like to think that single-use bottles & cans which are recyclable are in fact recycled after each flight, but it appears that they are often just thrown into the same rubbish bag as everything else - presumably to be sent to landfill.

Does anyone know if airlines do actually recycle these kinds of things?

 

[NM]

well, in most (all??) states, many of these plastic bottles and aluminum cans are worth 10c at a recycling centre. That could be a significant revenue source for an airline the size of Qantas if they can be extracted from the general waste and sent to a recycling centre. But generally they go into a refuse crusher in the galley and once compressed they generally are no longer able to be redeemed for the refund - must be able to read the bar code. of course that only affects the potential 10c refund and in no way impacts the actual ability to recycle the materials.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

No they don't.
All rubbish is taken away from aircraft in the same bags.
They don't sort anything.

 

[justinbrett]

QF absolutely did some recycling onboard at some point pre covid - although it may have only been a token effort. I think since, that’s all gone out the window. I definitely recall them having two bins on the trolley when they cleared the meal service and they separated recyclable items.

This article does mention it, and says they had a 20% reduction in landfill.

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[Mattg]

I wonder why airlines (generally) don't do this? Is it too much effort/expensive?

 

[Zanzara]

AA don't even attempt it. Everything goes in a big black bin bag & then, presumably, to landfill.

 

[Daver6]

I wonder why airlines (generally) don't do this? Is it too much effort/expensive?

It's much easier to just virtue signal and give customers a green icon for their QF app

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Shouldn’t the question be ‘Do airline catering Companies recycle plastic bottles, cans etc’ - or am I way off the mark and a different entity takes care of rubbish on arrival?

 

[Forg]

It's much easier to just virtue signal and give customers a green icon for their QF app

Airlines are a business, and the way businesses work is entirely about profit.

Unless airlines perceive a positive of telling everyone that they’re recycling, they have zero incentive to do so. You’ll get the occasional employee who’s keen for their employer to be doing the right thing, but unless their suggestions can be proven to either help with profit or cost nothing, they’re not going to be listened to.

Flying is considered to be pretty awful for the environment by the broad pool of airline customers, so stuff like recycling may not add much marketing oomph. Especially if, as @justinbrett said, QF were making a point of doing it but have since gone quiet - I’ll bet they did some analysis on that.

 

[justinbrett]

Especially if, as @justinbrett said, QF were making a point of doing it but have since gone quiet - I’ll bet they did some analysis on that.

I think Covid was a great excuse to ditch a lot of green policies, judging by how much single use plastic was being thrown around.

 

[milehighclub]

Recycling is being introduced again domestically. It does actually work as the carts are set up and work for short flights.

Internationally, it is usually Government requirements that treat all waste as quarantine waste. In fact, even within Australia, the Govt considered all waste from the International airport as quarantine waste and the airport lounges airside couldn't recycle (that has since changed).

QF did do recycling into Australia for cans and cups. But the strict rules meant even the slightest of food item spotted, spoilt the whole bag.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Indeed Dnata provide catering on SQ departing flts and are responsible for all rubbish removal from arriving flts

 

[justinbrett]

AA don't even attempt it. Everything goes in a big black bin bag & then, presumably, to landfill.

They do make pax share cans though, that must cut down on waste!

 

[Forg]

They do make pax share cans though, that must cut down on waste!

I went to the can once even in F, and it was the same one that other pax used!

 

[Warks]

Are their bins like the council ones where there are two chutes marked rubbish and recyclables but they both go to the same bin underneath? Saw a photo recently. What a joke.
I think perception is reality for the people who want to believe that airlines are doing their bit. Most travellers would be pretty cynical though.

 

[tdimdad]

Unless airlines perceive a positive of telling everyone that they’re recycling, they have zero incentive to do so. You’ll get the occasional employee who’s keen for their employer to be doing the right thing, but unless their suggestions can be proven to either help with profit or cost nothing, they’re not going to be listened to.

If - or when - we get to the point where the refuse waste is significantly more expensive to dispose of than recycling or reusing the materials, the business case looks different and the boardroom should get interested. But it may be that the first obstacle is to allow someone knowledgeable to do a proper analysis of the waste management options & costs on the company time...