IATA partners with Aviation Sustainability Forum to tackle cabin waste

IATA highlighted that ASF has already conducted trial audits using a methodology developed by IATA. These trials took place at Singapore’s Changi Airport in November 2023 and April 2024, covering 25 flights across short, medium, and long-haul routes. Preliminary results indicated that over 3.6 million metric tonnes of cabin and catering waste are generated annually by the sector, with food and beverage waste accounting for 65% of this total.

Matt Crane, founder of ASF and strategic projects lead at SATS, Asia’s largest aviation caterer, pointed out that progress on cabin waste reduction is lagging behind other sustainability initiatives such as sustainable aviation fuel development. He envisions a new supply chain model focused on optimizing waste reduction and circularity.

Crane noted that previous IATA research identified a lack of standardized methodology for conducting cabin waste audits. A standardized audit would provide harmonized data necessary for informed decision-making by policymakers, airlines, and caterers regarding waste-related issues.

IATA plans to discuss these challenges during its World Sustainability Symposium on September 24-25 in Miami, Florida. Concurrently, other industry efforts are focusing on leveraging technology to enhance sustainability. Companies like Diehl, Thales, Airbus, Boeing, Jeppesen, Safran among others are involved in an i+s Cabin research project aimed at revolutionizing cabin data collection and analysis.

Starting November 2025, results from this project will be available on an evaluation platform funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

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Featured image credited to Mary Kirby