According to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Global Outlook for Air Transport, global air cargo volumes will hit 61 million tonnes this year, up from 58 million in 2023.
While this is welcome news for the aviation industry and global economy, it places an ever greater emphasis on the need to embrace sustainable alternatives to reduce single-use plastics commonly used for packaging.
As the topic of my presentation at the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in the Sustainability Stream, it was clear that the air cargo industry is overwhelmingly committed to rigorous sustainability and environmental targets.
It’s important to remember the scale and impact of single-use plastic.
Much of this waste ends up in landfill, where it can take up to 1,000 years to degrade – leaching potentially toxic substances in the soil and water in the process.
More than 500 million tons of CO2 are produced by plastic annually, the equivalent to the amount produced worldwide by all passenger cars, motorbikes, planes and trains.
That’s more greenhouse gases than the aviation and shipping industries combined.
Reducing and ultimately eliminating single-use plastic doesn’t just make environmental sense, it brings commercial benefits too.
Having a robust waste-reduction strategy is an increasingly important requirement from customers, investors and stakeholders.
Governments, airlines and regulators are calling for sustainability requirements and they have never been as stringent as they are today.
Reducing single-use plastic isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do for business and the environment.
At Menzies Aviation, it’s the reason why we’ve set ambitious sustainability targets as part of our All In plan for a fair and sustainable future.
These goals include reaching net-zero across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2045, reducing the volume of plastic use and waste, increasing recycling rates, moving to low environmental impact solutions and continually managing our environmental risks and impacts.
Setting targets is of course important, but translating ambition into reality is the greater challenge.
This is particularly the case when it comes to the replacement of single-use plastics.
Sourcing suitable alternatives is often far from straightforward, and any business looking to make this transition will inevitably be faced with a variety of challenging factors to contend with.
There is currently no perfect replacement for single-use plastic, but rather a variety of alternative materials that are immeasurably better for the environment in terms of their production, re-use, recyclability and decomposition.
Examples for sheets and wrap include low density polyethylene (LDPE) with a percentage of recycled content, and biodegradable LDPE.
On the face of it, there are real benefits to either option, but the detail matters – not all biodegradable products are equal.
There are number of factors weigh-up when considering the environmental benefits, such as the percentage of recycled content, energy use, the biodegradable nature of the plastic, what gases and trace materials may be produced and how it will ultimately be wasted or recycled.
It's not only the characteristics and suitability of these alternatives which can make this transition difficult; a whole host of other factors can impact the decision-making process.
Differing customer requirements and specific regulations that vary from country-to-country present challenges for multinational companies, as well as sourcing quality products from reliable and reputable suppliers in different geographies.
Carrying out due diligence on suppliers and ensuring that their operations and products are sustainable can also be time consuming and complex.
An ideal solution is to create a circular or closed loop process that includes the reuse, recycle and reproduction of plastic, but this is not always possible and especially difficult to replicate across a number of geographies.
Reuse is a particular challenge as it is generally limited in scale and unlikely to be repeated more than once.
Once used, having robust, efficient and responsible processes for recycling plastic waste is vital.
When processing waste, the type and content of materials received from import cargo are very likely unknown, which must also be considered as part of the wate process. For example, not all types of biodegradable materials can be recycled.
In our experience at Menzies Aviation, navigating these challenges requires a three-pronged approach.
A strong policy and standards framework is a crucial foundation.
This means having a clear environmental policy and strategy, minimum product standards and processes in place which ensure we are keeping ahead of new legislation and regulation.
Building on this, clear measurement and tracking – from periodically reviewing suppliers to setting robust recycling targets – means that the products we use are always aligned to our requirements.
We will continually look for better solutions.
Finally, our approach to the selection of product suppliers and waste services prioritises identifying, testing and implementing alternatives, and requires suppliers to transparently demonstrate the sustainability credentials of their products, services and processes.
In turn, this helps us establish a group of preferred suppliers that can fulfil these requirements.
There is of course further to go, but our approach to eliminating single-use plastic has brought about real and tangible results.
BioNatur Plastics, a biodegradable and recyclable plastic product that leaves no microplastics, is already being used at four locations across the Americas and is set to be rolled out across our operations in the region and beyond.
In our four launch stations, this switch has already saved the equivalent of more than four million 16oz water bottles from landfill and a reduction of over 7,000 tonnes of CO2.
We also use recycled plastics products in other locations and are reviewing potential new products and processes that could bring improved benefits.
While there may be many challenges to reducing single-use plastic use, the reasons for action are clear.
With the right knowledge and a truly strategic approach, there’s no doubt that the air cargo industry can make a real difference to the global plastic waste problem.
This article was published in the June/July 2024 issue of Air Logistics International, click here to read the digital edition and click here to subscribe.