Life + Zero Cabin Waste project for recovering energy from airline waste begins

As part of its commitment to the circular economy, Ferrovial Services has joined the Life + Zero Cabin Waste project aiming to reduce the waste produced by catering services on board aeroplanes. Together with the rest of the companies involved in this initiative (Iberia, Ecoembes, Gate Gourmet, Biogas Fuel Cell and ESCI-Pompeu Fabra University), Ferrovial will seek to improve waste management and reduce the carbon footprint resulting from such services.

The role of Ferrovial Services

This environmental management project fits in perfectly with the organisation’s values, given its high environmental and financial potential. The aim is to find a way of recycling cabin waste in order to avoid landfill and contribute to environmental sustainability, as well as streamlining operational costs. One of the main contributions that Ferrovial Services brings to the project is the management and energy recovery of catering waste through its treatment plant located in Fuenlabrada (Madrid), which is equipped with the latest technology in waste separation and is fully automated. The company will moreover make available for the project a large fleet of vehicles and an experienced team of staff.

Life + Zero Cabin Waste in stages

• The project, which is already under way, is structured into four stages. The first stage involves an analysis of the waste arriving on the different flights landing at Madrid airport, to identify different types of waste and design an appropriate integral management model.
• The second stage will see the introduction of special trolleys on board the aircraft to facilitate waste separation and recycling. A specific system for improving waste separation in the airport itself will also be introduced.
• A third stage will deal with treatment of organic waste. Using life cycle analysis methodologies and ecodesign, the efficiency of the measures proposed for reducing the carbon footprint of cabin waste will also be evaluated.
• The last of the stages involves the rolling out of this model in Heathrow Airport and other European airports. Additionally, guidelines on the management of airline catering waste will be drawn up in collaboration with the relevant European Union authorities.

Life + Zero Cabin Waste is a pioneering project in the airline sector, which is set to run for 40 months with the aim of recovering 80% of all generated waste. It has a budget of 2.5 million Euros, of which 1.5 million is financed by the European Community.