SUSTAINABLE AIRLINE WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF AIR NEW ZEALAND'S WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES - Ijtte

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SUSTAINABLE AIRLINE WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF AIR NEW ZEALAND'S WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES - Ijtte
Baxter G. Sustainable Airline Waste Management: A Case Study of air New Zealand’s Waste Management Programs and Strategies
UDC: 656.7:502.131.1(931)                                                            DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7708/ijtte.2020.10(3).07

SUSTAINABLE AIRLINE WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY
OF AIR NEW ZEALAND’S WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
AND STRATEGIES
Glenn Baxter1
1
    School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Suan Dusit University, Huahin Prachaup Khiri Khan,
    Thailand
Received 4 April 2020; accepted 22 June 2020

Abstract: Waste management and waste disposal are now regarded as being amongst the most
significant issues in the environmental management of the global airline industry. Consequently,
airlines are now making substantial efforts to improve their waste management and reduce
waste generation. Using an instrumental case study research approach, this study examines
Air New Zealand’s environmentally sustainable waste management programs and strategies.
Air New Zealand launched its “Project Green” waste program in 2017. Since its inception,
the “Project Green” waste management program together with other waste-related strategies
have enabled the airline to mitigate the environmental impact of its annual wastes, especially
those disposed to landfill. Air Each year, Air New Zealand generates a heterogeneous range of
organic and in-flight service wastes. A major challenge confronted by the airline, in reducing
waste to landfill, is the apparent shortage of recycling and composting infrastructure available
for the airline to send its waste material to. More robust infrastructure across New Zealand
would assist Air New Zealand to keep compostable and recyclable waste out of landfills.

Keywords: airlines, Air New Zealand, case study, recycling, re-used wastes, sustainable waste
management, waste to landfill.

1. Introduction                                                      levels of recycling and the recovery of all
                                                                     resources from waste; as well as behavioural
Strategic waste management plans are now                             change (Cole et al., 2014). Uz Zaman
frequently being used by firms to manage                             (2014, p. 682) has noted that zero waste
waste problems. Around the world, firms are                          management is a holistic waste management
adopting a zero waste strategy; this strategy                        concept that views waste as a resource which
aims to prevent waste through sustainable                            is produced at the intermediate phase of
design and consumption practices together                            the firm’s resource consumption process.
with the optimum recovery from waste and                             Indeed, zero waste management is a whole
avoiding the necessity to dispose of waste by                        system approach that is centered around
incineration or landfills wherever possible                          reducing, re-using, and recycling of wastes.
(Zaman and Ahsan, 2020). The zero-waste                              The objective of a zero-waste strategy is
concept includes waste prevention; high                              to optimize recycling, minimize waste,

1
    Corresponding author g_glennbax@dusit.ac.th

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International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2020, 10(3): 351 - 370

reduce the consumption of materials,                                      waste (Blanca-Alcubilla et al., 2019). The
ensuring that products are produced that                                  International Air Transport Association
can be re-used, repaired, and recycled, and                               (IATA), the peak global airlines association,
the purchasing of sustainable products.                                   has estimated that in 2018 approximately
Zero waste management systems reduce                                      6.1 million tonnes (6.7 million US tons)
greenhouse gases through energy savings,                                  of waste were generated onboard aircraft
particularly by reducing energy consumption                               (Moynihan and Moynihan, 2019). According
associated with the extraction, processing                                to IATA (2020a), around 20% was food
and transportation of raw materials and                                   and drinks that were unused during flights
waste, and by reducing and eventually                                     (International Air Transport Association,
eliminating the requirement for landfills                                 2020b; Rueb, 2019). Consequently, airlines
and incineration of waste (Rathoure, 2020).                               are making considerable efforts to improve
                                                                          waste management and reduce waste
Environmental sustainability is viewed                                    generation (Blanca-Alcubilla et al., 2019;
as being a critical element of sustainable                                Moynihan and Moynihan, 2019).
development. Environmental considerations
in relation to waste have become increasingly                             Air New Zealand was selected as the case
important due to population growth and                                    airline as it an airline that has placed a
the increased production of a wide variety                                very high focus and commitment to the
of products (Erickson, 2016). Furthermore,                                sustainability of its operations. A key element
future limitations on the availability of                                 of the company’s sustainability framework is
selected resources underpins the requirement                              its commitment to reducing waste through
for increased material efficiency. In addition,                           its “Project Green” program, which was
in a climate-constrained world the impact                                 launched in 2017 (Air New Zealand, 2019a).
of resource use on greenhouse gas emissions                               The objective of this study is to examine
needs to be significantly minimized. Waste                                how Air New Zealand sustainably manages
management is thus regarded as the key to                                 its wastes and how it works with other key
achieving sustainable resource management                                 stakeholders participating in the “Project
(Corsten et al., 2013).                                                   Green” waste management program to
                                                                          mitigate its annual waste production. The
Air transport operations inevitably have                                  study also aims to identify the types of waste
a significant impact on the environment                                   generated by Air New Zealand and the
(Daley, 2016; Kumar et al., 2020; Schäfer                                 challenges that it may confront in handling
and Waitz, 2014). In recognition of this                                  the waste in a sustainably environmental
environmental impact, airlines have become                                manner.
increasingly committed to becoming more
“g reen,” or env iron menta l ly f r iend ly                              The remainder of the paper is organized
(Hagmann et al., 2015; Mayer et al., 2012).                               as follows: the literature review presented
Solid waste management and waste disposal is                              in Section 2 provides an overview of waste
regarded as being one of the most significant                             management systems, the waste management
issues in the environmental management                                    hierarchy, and the types and sources of
of the global airline industry (Li et al.,                                airline waste. The research method that
2003). Each year the air transport industry                               underpinned the study is described in
generates a substantial amount of comingle                                Section 3. The empirical examination

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Baxter G. Sustainable Airline Waste Management: A Case Study of air New Zealand’s Waste Management Programs and Strategies

of Air New Zealand’s sustainable waste                            incineration with energy recovery, and the
management programs and strategies are                            disposal of waste to landfill (Nordone et
presented in Section 4. The key findings of                       al., 2009, p. 93). The waste management
the study are presented in Section 5.                             hierarchy is as follows: reduce, re-use,
                                                                  recycle, recovery and disposal (Figure 1)
2. Background                                                     (Baxter et al., 2018a; Davies, 2016). This
                                                                  means that in the waste management
2.1. Components of a Waste Management                             hierarchy, reducing waste should be the
System                                                            primary objective of a company. There are
                                                                  two key principles in a company being able
Waste is produced from industrial activities,                     to successfully achieve waste reduction.
which is frequently directly associated with                      First, the company should aim to reduce
a firm’s production or the waste is generated                     the volume generated and disposed of in
at the end of the life cycle of certain products                  landfills, therefore reducing the deterioration
(Pharino, 2017). According to Demirbas                            of the environment, reducing the emissions
(2015, p. 1280), “waste management is the                         generated from landfills and also providing
collection, transport, processing, recycling or                   energy and natural resources savings (Zhu
disposal, and monitoring of waste materials”.                     et al., 2008). Secondly, a company should
Waste management is a part of the generation,                     adopt an effective system to manage all
collection and a firm’s waste disposal system                     unavoidable waste. According to the waste
(Seadon, 2010). A firm’s ty pical waste                           management hierarchy, re-use and recycling
management system consists of the collection,                     of waste are the best methods of handling
transportation, pre-treatment, processing                         unavoidable waste (Pitt and Smith, 2003).
(Christenson, 2010), and final abatement                          Re-using waste, wherever possible, is
of residue wastes. The waste management                           regarded as more favorable to recycling. This
system is comprised of the whole set of                           is because the waste items do not need to be
activities that are required for the handling,                    processed prior to being used once again
treatment, disposal or recycling of the waste                     (Güren, 2015). The next best waste disposal
materials by a firm (Demirbas, 2015).                             route is that of incineration. The incineration
                                                                  of solid waste has two very useful purposes
Many modern waste treatment processes and                         in a waste management system. Principally,
waste management systems can treat many                           it reduces the volume of waste to be disposed
different types of waste simultaneously. These                    of by sanitary landfill (Rand et al., 2000).
systems also deliver some very useful outputs                     Secondly, incineration can also be used as a
for firms, for example, secondary materials                       means of generating energy (Awasthi et al.,
and energy (Heijungs and Guinée, 2007).                           2019; Hettiarachchi and Kshourad, 2019).

2.2. The waste Management Hierarchy                               Finally, disposal in landfill sites is regarded
                                                                  as the least desirable option (Manahan, 2011;
The waste management hierarchy often                              Pitt and Smith, 2003). Waste that is disposed
varies in its exact form but it typically ranks                   of through landfilling and open dumping, is
waste management options in a preferred                           regarded as being environmentally unsafe
order: waste minimization, re-use of waste,                       due to emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
materials recycling, biological treatment,                        (Ahmed et al., 2020; Trabold and Nair, 2019).

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Fig. 1.
The Waste Management Hierarchy
Source: adapted from European Commission (2019)

2.3. The Types and Sources of Airline include newspapers, paper towels, plastic
Waste                                 bottles (United States Federal Aviation
                                                                          Administration, 2013), food dropped on the
Airlines produce large volumes of waste                                   floor, amenity kits and plastic wrapping from
which typically includes food and drink                                   blankets, pillows and headsets. Cleaning
containers, newspapers and magazines, food                                waste also includes the contents of washroom
waste (from offices, lounges/cafeterias),                                 bins and med ica l waste such as used
light bulbs, printer toner, paper, documents                              syringes that have been left by passengers
and computer print outs. In addition to the                               for subsequent disposal. Catering (galley)
waste generated from their administration                                 related waste comes from inf light meals,
and flight operations, many airlines generate                             snacks and beverages served to passengers
considerable waste from handling their air                                throughout the flight. This waste can also
cargo services. These wastes include tires,                               consist of leftover food, drinks and packaging
f luids, lights bulbs, batteries, wood and                                which is placed back in the service trolleys,
wooden pallets, plastic wrapping material,                                in static or compactor bins. Importantly,
green waste from lawn/garden care and                                     this waste can contain large volumes of
landscaping, paper, and computer printouts                                liquid from unconsumed beverages and ice.
(Baxter et al., 2018b).                                                   (International Air Transport Association,
                                                                          2020a).
Deplaned aircraf t waste is waste that
originates on an airline’s f lights. Cabin                                The type of meals served by an airline on
waste is comprised of two principal streams:                              its flights varies according to the duration
cleaning waste and catering (galley) waste                                of f light. Consequently, the quantity and
(International Air Transport Association,                                 content of the generated waste stream is
2020a). Cleaning waste is leftover rubbish                                closely related to the length of the f light
from items provided to passengers on the                                  (Chandrappa and Das, 2012; El-Mobaidh
aircraft during their f light. These items                                et al., 2006).

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2.4. The Airline Waste International redraws generalizations, or builds theory
Regulatory Framework                 (Baxter; 2019; Stake, 1995, 2005). The goal
                                                                  of the case study approach is to expand and
All cabin waste is subject to national waste                      build theories rather than perform statistical
management controls that limit pollution                          analysis to test a study’s specific hypothesis
(International Air Transport Association,                         (Rahim and Baksh, 2003). In addition, the
2020a). Indeed, many countries have imposed                       present study was designed around the
very stringent health and safety regulations                      established theory of sustainable waste
in place for in-flight waste (Moynihan and                        management (Chang and Pires, 2015; Pires
Moynihan, 2019). Furthermore, many                                et al., 2019).
countries have gone further with their
regulations, introducing restrictions on                          3.2. Data Collection
catering waste from international f lights
to protect their agricultural sector (in                          Data for the study was obtained from a range
respect to animal health) (International Air                      of documents: Air New Zealand’s annual
Transport Association, 2020a). Airline meals                      sustainability reports, Air New Zealand’s
are also prepared using stringent hygiene                         annual reports, and media releases, airline
and quality control standards (Jones, 2004;                       industr y press ar ticles, and company
Sheward, 2006). The regulations often result                      materials available on the internet. These
in the incineration of all cabin waste with                       documents provided the sources of the
limited potential for reuse and recycling                         study’s case evidence. An exhaustive source
(International Air Transport Association,                         of the leading air transport and waste-related
2020a). Thus, as international f lights are                       journals and magazines was also conducted.
subject to strict Customs and biosecurity                         The study also included a search of the
standards; these standards and regulatory                         SCOPUS and Google Scholar databases.
requirements add a high degree of complexity
as to how an international airline can handle                     The key words used in the database searches
the waste generated on their international                        included “Air New Zealand sustainability
ser v ices (A i r New Z ea la nd, 2 019c).                        policy”, “Air New Zealand Project Green
Governments around the world also typically                       program”, “Air New Zealand engagement
legislate the requirements for the handling of                    with key waste management stakeholders”,
general and hazardous wastes as well.                             “t y pes of waste produced by A ir New
                                                                  Zealand”, and “Air New Zealand sustainable
3. Research Methodology                                           waste management challenges”.

3.1. Research Approach                                            Secondar y data was therefore used in
                                                                  the study. The three principles of data
The research approach underpinning this                           collection as recommended by Yin (2018)
study was based on an instrumental case                           were followed: the use of multiple sources
study approach. An instrumental case study                        of case evidence, creation of a database on
is the study of a case, for instance, a company,                  the subject and the establishment of a chain
that provides insights into a specific issue,                     of evidence.

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International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2020, 10(3): 351 - 370

3.3. Data Analysis                                                        in obtaining documents for the study as all
                                                                          the relevant documents could be readily
The empirical data collected for the case                                 accessed in the public domain. The fourth
studies was examined using document                                       criterion, meaning, is a most critical aspect
analysis. Document analysis is regularly used                             of document analysis and occurs at two
in case studies (Grant, 2019; Monios, 2016)                               levels. The first is the literal understanding
and focuses on the information and data from                              of a document, by which is meant its
formal documents and company records                                      physical readability, the language used and
that have been gathered by the researcher(s)                              whether it can be read, and secondly, the
(Baxter, 2019; Ramon Gil-Garcia, 2012).                                   date of the document (Fulcher and Scott,
The documents gathered for the study were                                 2011; Scott and Marshall, 2009). W hen
examined and assessed by four key criteria:                               conducting document analysis in a study, it
authenticity, credibility, representativeness                             is important to interpret the understanding
and meaning (Fulcher and Scott, 2011; Scott                               and the context within which the document
and Marshall, 2009).                                                      was produced. This enables the researcher
                                                                          to interpret the meaning of the document.
Prior to commencing the formal analysis of                                The evidence found in the documents
the documents that were gathered for the                                  gathered and used for the study were all
study, the context in which the documents                                 clear and comprehensible (Baxter, 2019;
were created was established and the                                      van Schoor, 2017).
authenticity of the documents was assessed.
In document analysis, authenticity involves                               Following the guidance of Yin (2018), all
an assessment of the gathered documents for                               the collected documents were downloaded
their soundness and authorship. Scott and                                 and stored in a case study database. The
Marshall (2009, p.188) note that “soundness                               documents gathered for the study were all in
refers to whether the document is complete                                English. Each document was carefully read,
and whether it is an original and sound                                   and key themes were coded and recorded.
copy”. Authorship of documents relates                                    The study also followed the recommendation
to such issues as collective or institutional                             of van Schoor (2017) who has observed
authorship. In this study the source of the                               that in order to avoid bias entering a study,
case study documents was Air New Zealand.                                 documents from different sources should
The documents were available in the public                                also be carefully analyzed. Thus, in the
domain. The credibility criterion concerns                                present study, documents were collected
the accuracy and sincerity of a document                                  from multiple sources. This triangulation
(Fu lcher a nd Scot t, 2 011; Scot t a nd                                 approach helped verify the themes that were
Marshall, 2009). In the present study, the                                detected in the documents gathered in the
evidence for the case study was corroborated                              study (Baxter, 2019; Kitamura, 2019).
using various kinds of documents (Baxter,
2019), for example, A ir New Zealand’s                                    4. Results
annual reports, sustainability reports, and
media releases. The representativeness                                    4.1. A Brief Overview of Air New Zealand
criterion involved an assessment of the
availability and survival of the documents                                Established in April 1940, Tasman Empire
gathered. There were no major difficulties                                Airways Limited (TEAL) was originally

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Baxter G. Sustainable Airline Waste Management: A Case Study of air New Zealand’s Waste Management Programs and Strategies

owned by the New Zealand (50%), Australian                       NZ) and on the Australia Stock Exchange
(30%) and British (20%) governments. The                         (ticker symbol AIZ.AU) (Air New Zealand,
airline’s inaugural f light took place on 10                     2020c).
April 1940 linking Waite Harbour, Auckland
and Rose Bay in Sydney. The first f light                        Today, the Air New Zealand Group (Air New
was operated with a Short S30 flying boat                        Zealand) operates a global network providing
(Chant, 1997). On 1 April 1965, the airline’s                    both air passenger and air cargo services
named changed to Air New Zealand. This                           to, from and within New Zealand. Air New
was to reflect a major international expansion                   Zealand’s strategic focus and its competitive
(Brimson, 1985; Green and Swanborough,                           advantage lies within the Pacific Rim where
1975).                                                           the company’s route network reach extends
                                                                 from New Zealand into Australia, Asia and
Air New Zealand was initially privatized                         the Americas (Air New Zealand, 2019b). As
by t he New Z ea la nd gover n ment i n                          at 30 September 2019, Air New Zealand’s
1989 (Duval, 2005). Air New Zealand’s                            operated a f leet of 116 aircraft (Air New
privatization contained foreign ownership                        Zealand, 2020b).
limits, that is, 49% overall or 25% from any
single airlines, and 35% from any group of                       Figure 2 presents Air New Zealand’s total
airlines (Morrell, 2013). In October 2001, the                   annua l revenue passenger k ilometres
New Zealand Government agreed to invest                          performed (R PKs) and total enplaned
$NZD 885 million into Air New Zealand                            passengers for the period 2011 to 2019.
(Gaynor, 2015), who was experiencing                             Revenue passenger kilometres are a distant
some difficulties at that time (Newberry,                        weighted measure because they are produced
2011). This initiative comprised a $NZD                          by an airline f lying one passenger one
300 million loan, in the form of convertible                     kilometre. One passenger enplanement
preference shares, and the purchase of                           measures the embarkation of a revenue
new shares valued at $NZD 585 million.                           passenger, whether originating, stop-over,
The convertible preference shares were                           connecting or returning (Holloway, 2016).
subsequently converted into ordinary shares                      Air New Zealand’s total annual RPKs and
in 2005. In 2004, Air New Zealand placed                         annual enplaned passengers grew from
a rights issue at $NZD 1.30 a share and                          269.9 million R PK s and 13.1 million
the New Zealand Government purchased                             passengers in 2011 to 385.7 million RPKs
a further $NZD 150 million worth of new                          and 17.7 million enplaned passengers in
shares (Gaynor, 2015). At the time of the                        2019 respectively, as illustrated in Figure
present study, the New Zealand Government                        2. Also, as can be observed in Figure 2, there
owned 52% of Air New Zealand ordinary                            has been a consistent growth in both RPKs
shares. The remaining shares are listed on                       and enplaned passengers during the period
the NZ Stock Exchange (ticker symbol AIR.                        2011 to 2019.

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Fig. 2.
Air New Zealand’s Total Annual Revenue Passenger Kilometres Performed (RPKs) and Total Annual
Enplaned Passengers: 2011-2019
Source: data derived from Air New Zealand (2015a,2019b)

4.2. Air New Zealand Sustainability Policy Sustainability Framework. The second part
                                                                          of the company’s Sustainability Framework
Air New Zealand’s purpose is to substantially                             is titled “Kaitiakitanga”, “Our place”, and
boost New Zealand’s success - socially,                                   the focus here is on carbon abatement, as
environmentally, and economically. The                                    well as nature and science. This part of the
a irl ine’s “Susta inabi l it y Fra mework ”                              Sustainability Framework is based on four
(Table 2) helps guide the company’s actions                               of the United Nations SDGs (Table 1). The
and is aligned with the United Nations                                    final part of Air New Zealand’s Sustainability
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)                                      Framework is titled “Ōhanga Ora”, “Our
(Air New Zealand, 2019c). The United                                      economy”, and its focus is on sustainable
Nations Sustainable Development Goals                                     tourism trade, and enterprise. This part of
(SDGs) provide a framework for business                                   the Sustainability Framework includes the
and government to solve global economic,                                  United Nation’s SDGs Number 8 Decent
social, and environmental challenges (Air                                 work and economic growth, and Number 12
New Zealand, 2018).                                                       Responsible consumption and production
                                                                          (Table 2) (Air New Zealand, 2019c).
Air New Zealand has identified nine SDGs
which they believe that the company has the                               Air New Zealand has established a four-
greatest ability to positively impact (Table                              member Sustainability Executive Steering
2) (Air New Zealand, 2019c). As can be seen                               Group. This group is comprised of the
in Table 2, Air New Zealand’s first SDG is                                company’s executives responsible for
titled “Manaakitanga’, “Our people”, and the                              Strategy, Networks and Alliances, Ground
focus of these SDGs is on Air New Zealand                                 Operations, Marketing and Customers, and
employees as well as the broader community.                               Operations Integrity and Standards. This
Air New Zealand has incorporated 6 of the                                 group steers the company’s sustainability
United Nations SDGs into this part of their                               agenda and drives change through their

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respective parts of the business. Internally                      challenge the company’s sustainability
the company uses an online sustainability                         agenda. The advisory panel has six members
dashboard to regularly monitor and track                          and are joined by Air New Zealand’s Chief
its performance against targets in each of its                    Executive and Chief Strategy, Networks and
framework areas (Air New Zealand, 2019c).                         Alliances Officers. The Advisory Panel and
                                                                  other company representatives meet twice a
Air New Zealand has also established a                            year to discuss progress, identify emerging
“Sustainability Advisory Panel” which                             issues and develop responses for the issues
brings together an internationally renowned                       identified. The Panel are also consulted
group of experts who have been selected                           on issues identified outside of the regular
for their skills, expertise and ability to                        meetings (Air New Zealand, 2019c).

Table 1
Air New Zealand Sustainability Framework
           Manaakitanga                                 Kaitiakitanga                              Ōhanga Ora
            Our People                                   Our Place                                Our Economy
                                                                                           (8) Decent work and economic
   (3) Good health and well-being            (7) Affordable and green energy
                                                                                                      growth
                                           (12) Responsible consumption and              (12) Responsible consumption and
        (5) Gender equality
                                                     production                                     production
   (8) Decent work and economic
                                                    (13) Climate action
              growth
     (10)) Reduced inequalities                    (14) Life below water
        (13) Climate action
         (15) Life on land
Source: Air New Zealand (2019c)

4.3. Air New Zealand “Project Green” processes, especially for cabin crew who
Waste Management Program             play a key role by returning unused items
                                                                  to stowage and separating goods correctly
In 2017, Air New Zealand, its in-f light                          (Air New Zealand, 2017a; Creedy, 2017).
catering partner LSG Sky Chefs, and the
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI),                            Prior to the implementation of the “Project
joined forces to address the inflight waste                       Green” waste ma nagement prog ra m,
from A ir New Zealand ’s international                            New Zealand’s Biosecurity regulations
services arriving at the airline’s primary                        required any unopened food left over from
hub at Auckland International Airport (Air                        international f lights to be disposed by
New Zealand, 2017a). The waste initiative                         landfill to be burned or buried (Creedy,
program was developed over 18 months with                         2017; Vezich, 2017). The key objective of the
Air New Zealand working closely with LSG                          “Project Green” waste management program
Sky Chefs and New Zealand’s Ministry for                          is to divert 150 tonnes of waste from landfill
Primary Industries during this time. The                          annually (Bradley, 2019; Gavine, 2017). The
“Project Green” waste management program                          “Project Green” waste management program
required a change in the airline’s onboard                        was one of many initiatives Air New Zealand

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had in place at the time of its implementation                            new supply contracts must include shared
to reduce waste, with other programmes                                    financial incentives and landfill reduction
addressing organic waste from office spaces,                              targets (Air New Zealand, 2018).
the repurposing of office materials and
lounge furniture, and blankets (Air New                                   In June 2019, Air New Zealand partnered
Zealand, 2017a; Airside International, 2018).                             with New Zealand-based, family-owned
                                                                          company “Twiice” to trial its edible biscotti
During 2017, the “Project Green” waste                                    coffee cups. This initiative was also part
management program enabled 4 0 A ir                                       of Air New Zealand’s objective to further
New Zealand inf light products that were                                  reduce in-f light waste. The concept was
previously disposed by landfill due to                                    to make the cups edible. Air New Zealand
biosecurity controls, to be reclassified so                               serves around 8 million cups of coffee cups
that these items could be reused on future                                each year, so by making cups edible the
f lights if removed from an aircraft sealed                               airline could reduce the number of cups that
and untouched (Air New Zealand, 2017a).                                   would need to be disposed by landfill. The
Products approved under the scheme include                                cups were made of wheat flour, sugar, egg,
sealed beverages and snacks (for example,                                 and vanilla, and was basically a cup-shaped
cans of soft drink, packets of cookies, boxes                             vanilla cookie (Smith, 2019).
of tea, packets of coffee and sugar sachets). As
at October 2019, the airline had repurposed                               In July 2019, Air New Zealand set a target
more than one million of each of the                                      to increase the number of single-use plastic
following - plastic cups, sugar sticks, paper                             items it would remove in 2019 from 24
cups and paper cup lids (Bradley, 2019).                                  million to nearly 55 million items. Also,
Also, during 2017, new waste management                                   in 2019, to mark the airline’s “Plastic Free
infrastructure enabled wax coated inflight                                July” campaign, Air New Zealand removed
coffee cups to be recycled in certain parts                               individual plastic water bottles from its
of New Zealand. Air New Zealand, tested                                   Business Premier and Premium Economy
coffee cup recycling on its domestic services.                            aircraft cabins on its Trans-Tasman and
A trial was conducted on its services to                                  Pacific Island services under five hours in
Dunedin and this showed that the airline                                  duration (Air New Zealand, 2019c; Green Air,
could double its inflight recycling rate and                              2020). This project was also targeted at the
remove cups out of the landfill waste stream.                             airline’s “Works Deluxe” product offering on
Air New Zealand noted that by rolling this                                those flights. The initiative was anticipated
initiative out across its domestic fleet the                              to divert more than 460,000 bottles that
initiative would allow it to recycle 6.5 tonnes                           would have to be sent annually to landfill
of café cups, plastic glasses and water bottles                           and save over 300 tonnes of carbon emissions
per year (Air New Zealand, 2017b).                                        by reducing weight on the operating aircraft
                                                                          (Green Air, 2020). More than 600 Air New
In 2018, to meet its waste management                                     Zealand staff took part in the employee-led
targets, Air New Zealand asked potential                                  “Plastic Free July” campaign. The airline’s
suppliers to partner with the airline on a                                staff took the challenge to reduce their usage
more strategic approach to meeting its waste                              of single-use plastic very seriously. To reward
reduction targets. To drive this systemic                                 this commitment, Air New Zealand offered
change, Air New Zealand have noted that                                   their staff some prizes. One of the most

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noteworthy examples was the airline’s team                       Green” waste management initiative was
based in Samoa, who arranged a fully catered                     also introduced in Los Angeles, the airline’s
meal to celebrate “Matariki” in traditional                      largest offshore catering airport. This was
style using zero plastics (Air New Zealand,                      done in conjunction with Air New Zealand’s
2019c).                                                          partner LSG Sky Chefs. This was the first
                                                                 time the “Project Green” waste management
In 2019, Air New Zealand also announced                          had been implemented outside of New
plans to roll out coffee cups made from                          Zealand. Based on trials at the four new
plants rather than plastic across its domestic                   locations, Air New Zealand expected to
and international networks from October                          divert around 111 tonnes of product from
2019, while plastic water cups were to be                        landfill annually. The cost savings from
transitioned to recyclable alternatives from                     not having to pay landfill charges are being
September 2019. Air New Zealand had                              reinvested on other sustainable supply chain
previously targeted coffee and water cups                        initiatives, with less product waste being
on its domestic network, as this was where                       disposed to landfill. In addition, by only
most cups are used. However, in 2019 the                         transporting what food/materials the airline
scope was expanded to introduce the lower                        requires to deliver its in-flight services the
impact cups across the airline’s international                   weight of the operating aircraft is reduced,
network. This initiative resulted in the total                   and this helps to reduce fuel burn and carbon
number of cups being replaced from 14.7                          emissions (Air New Zealand, 2019c).
million to 44.5 million. Individual plastic
sauce packets were also removed from the                         During 2019, Air New Zealand subsequently
airline’s Business Premier cabins on its                         changed its waste management contractor.
mainland North America and Hong Kong                             This has resulted in new ways for the two
services, and these items were eliminated                        firms to collaborate to more sustainably
entirely from the global network by the                          manage the wastes generated by Air New
end of October 2019 (Green Air, 2020).                           Zealand. Waste Management NZ Limited
The airline’s passengers were instead                            assumed co-responsibility for delivering
served sauce in reusable dishes, which was                       on Air New Zealand’s public waste targets
predicted to prevent around 200,000 plastic                      and the firm is providing full-time, in-
packets going to landfill each year (Air New                     house resources to work with the airline
Zealand, 2019c; Green Air, 2020; Smith,                          on minimising waste at source. The two
2019). Also, in 2019, Air New Zealand set                        firms have taken an entire process holistic
an objective to reduce its plastic footprint by                  approac h, f rom produc t ion t h roug h
260,000 plastic toothbrushes, 3,000 straws,                      procurement to product end-of-life (Air
7.1 million stirrers, and 260,000 eye mask                       New Zealand, 2019c).
wrappers. A key challenge was to identify
alternatives to plastic that are genuinely                       By February 2020, the “Project Green”
biodegradable or recyclable, whilst also being                   waste management program had enabled
lightweight (Bradley, 2019). In July 2019, Air                   Air New Zealand to recover 85 tonnes of
New Zealand rolled out its “Project Green”                       water bottles, in excess of 11.5 million
waste management program in Wellington                           plastic glasses, and more than 4 million
and Christchurch, which was followed by                          sugar sticks (Young, 2020). During 2020, Air
Queenstown in August 2019. The “Project                          New Zealand also planned to introduce the

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International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2020, 10(3): 351 - 370

“Project Green” waste management program                                  progress, with recycling rates from the
in San Francisco, Chicago, and Houston (Air                               airline’s New Zealand ground sites reaching
New Zealand, 2019c).                                                      65% (Table 2), which was up from 32% in
                                                                          2013. In 2015, the highest rates of waste
One of the key benefits for Air New Zealand                               diversion occurred at the airline’s Auckland
from its “Project Green” waste management                                 and Christchurch engineering bases, where
program is that the airline is achieving cost                             employees had implemented major recycling
savings by not biosecurity treating the                                   initiatives that diverted approximately
products and then being required to pay                                   71% of waste. In 2015, Air New Zealand
the applicable landfill charges. A further                                commenced donating unbranded blazers,
benefit has been that of staff engagement                                 trench coats, trousers and merino knitwear
(Bradley, 2019). In addition to reducing the                              to charities, which included the Women’s
amount of waste disposed to landfill, the data                            Refuge and the Auckland City Mission.
captured by Air New Zealand has resulted in                               Uniform garments that could not be reused
the company being better able to assess flight                            due to their condition or because of branding
loading requirements and also to identify                                 and security risks, were being shredded
other opportunities to reduce waste at the                                and converted into furniture blankets and
source (Young, 2020).                                                     bedding felt. The airline estimated that its
                                                                          uniform reuse and recycling programmes
4.4. The Types of Waste Produced by Air                                   saved approximately 6.4 tonnes per year of
New Zealand                                                               material being disposed to landfill (Air New
                                                                          Zealand, 2015b).
As previously noted, on an annual basis Air
New Zealand generates a diverse range of                                  In 2016, Air New Zealand exceeded its
wastes. Organic wastes are produced from                                  target to divert 70% of its domestic ground
the airline’s head office, office materials and                           waste from landfill with 73% of waste being
lounge furniture, staff uniforms and blankets                             diverted, a 2.81% increase on the 2015
are other types of wastes produced from                                   levels (Table 2). Also, in 2016, the airline
its operations and from its administration                                set a zero waste to landfill target for all
activ ities (A ir New Zealand, 2017 b).                                   Auckland ground sites by 2020. Air New
Other types of waste, which are primarily                                 Zealand achieved a waste recycling rate
produced from in-f light services, include                                of 74% in 2016. Air New Zealand’s reuse
plastic cups, sugar packets, bottled water (Air                           and recycling programme for its corporate
New Zealand, 2017a), plastic toothbrushes,                                uniforms continued in 2016, with seven
straws, million stirrers, eye mask wrappers,                              tonnes of textile waste estimated to have
soft drink cans, packets of cookies, boxes of                             been diverted from landfill throughout the
tea, and packets of coffee (Bradley, 2019).                               year. The airline also collaborated with
                                                                          the “R&D Company”, “The Formary” and
4.5. The Annual Waste Disposed                                            other New Zealand firms to explore long
by Landfill and Waste Minimization                                        term solutions for textile re-use. Following
Initiatives by Air New Zealand                                            a series of office refits during 2016, Air New
                                                                          Zealand donated 1,500 pieces of used office
I n 2 01 5 , A i r Ne w Z e a l a nd ’s w a s t e                         furniture to Fijian schools, which were being
minimisation program continued to make                                    rebuilt following Cyclone Winston, with a

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Baxter G. Sustainable Airline Waste Management: A Case Study of air New Zealand’s Waste Management Programs and Strategies

further 1,650 pieces of furniture donated                        new waste targets for a l l its sites. I n
to 14 community groups and not-for-profit                        addition, Air New Zealand investigated
organisations. In 2016, Air New Zealand also                     new technology opportunities, and focused
continued to support Auckland International                      on improved internal communications to
Airport’s waste minimisation initiative for                      enable information sharing so that employees
non-food cabin waste on inbound f lights                         could play their part in driving a culture
arriving at the airport. This project was                        of waste minimisation throughout the
initiated by the Air New Zealand “Cleaning                       company. During 2017, Air New Zealand
Team and Operations Delivery Team”, who                          continued to recycle uniforms and furniture
foresaw an opportunity to re-introduce                           that were no longer fit for purpose but could
unused products back onto the airline’s                          be beneficial to non-profit organizations.
f lights. During 2016, the team worked                           Approximately five tonnes of uniforms were
with Auck land International A irport’s                          recycled thus avoiding disposal to landfill. In
waste ma nagement cont rac tor “OCS                              addition, over 500 pieces of furniture were
WasteLine”, who processed cabin waste                            distributed to not-for-profit organizations
and isolated Air New Zealand products.                           in Auckland, New Zealand as well as to Fiji.
As this program gained momentum, Air                             The refurbishment of Air New Zealand’s
New Zealand established an Inflight Waste                        Melbourne A irport office during 2017
and Recycling team comprising cabin crew                         resulted in the reuse of existing good quality
representatives, who focused on encouraging                      kitchen and office components, and the
fellow crew members to raise awareness and                       donation of desks and screens to community
return unused items back to their allocated                      groups (Air New Zealand, 2017b).
stowage positions. This avoided product
being disposed to landfill. For the financial                    During 2018, Ai New Zealand introduced
year ending June 2016, the project achieved                      a wider set of waste reduction targets. As
landfill diversion rates of almost 48%                           can be observed in Table 2, the total waste
through the recycling of dry waste products                      disposed by landfill (%) was 69.1% down
that posed no biosecurity risks (Air New                         from the 70.5% recorded in the preceding
Zealand, 2016).                                                  year. This decline of 2.67% (Table 2), could
                                                                 be attributed to a variety of factors. In 2018,
During 2017, Air New Zealand’s landfill                          there was an increase of 13.5% (336 tonnes)
waste diversion rate was 71%, which was                          of waste generated compared to 2017 from
2.73% lower than the rate achieved in                            both inflight and ground operations. This
2016 (Table 2). In 2017, Air New Zealand                         increase in waste can be partly attributed
introduced an organic waste collection                           to a 6.4% increase in enplaned passenger
system at its Auckland head office, which                        numbers, and increased volumes of procured
helped improve landfill diversion rates by                       product. Also, in 2018, Air New Zealand,
9% percent (13 tonnes of organic waste                           increased the number of waste managed
being diverted from its Head Office site).                       ground sites, to include airport lounges as
Follow ing the implementation of this                            well as offices and passenger terminals.
initiative at its Head Office in Auckland, the                   Following trials during 2018, which resulted
airline decided to implement organic waste                       in a 14% increase in diversion from landfill,
collections at other major employee sites                        Air New Zealand also invested in additional
during 2018. The airline also established                        organic waste infrastructure and services

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International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2020, 10(3): 351 - 370

located at its major employee ground                                      appropriate end-of-life facilities in place.
sites. The objective of this approach was                                 Also, during 2019, the types of products
to help separate more volumes of waste at                                 that could be disposed by landfill through
source. Air New Zealand also increased                                    recycling systems decreased substantially.
staff engagement on the issue of waste                                    Previously the airline was able to recycle
generation and separation at source. This was                             seven discrete types of plastic at existing New
supported by the company’s Properties team                                Zealand facilities, however, this changed to
extending the company design manual from                                  just two recyclable products in 2019 (Air
customer-facing lounges to all parts of the                               New Zealand, 2019c). Table 2 shows that the
organisation, including for infrastructure,                               annual waste disposed by landfill declined
such as, recycling bins, signage and fixtures                             by 1.30% on the 2018 level.
(Air New Zealand, 2018).
                                                                          During 2020, Air New Zealand planned
In 2019, A ir New Zealand focused on                                      to renew its focus on working closely with
reducing the volume of waste and plastic                                  its pool of 4,000 suppliers in order to drive
packaging that the airline purchased at                                   changes in the packaging of products,
source. This strategy ensured that A ir                                   including some customer-favourite inflight
New Zealand was less reliant on having the                                products (Air New Zealand, 2019c).

Table 2
Air New Zealand Annual Waste Disposed by Landfill (%) and Year-on-year Change: 2015-2019
                               Percentage of Waste
        Year                                                             Year-on-Year Change (%)
                               Disposed to Landfill
       2015                           71.0                                              0
       2016                           73.0                                            2.81
       2017                           71.0                                            -2.73
       2018                           69.1                                            -2.67
       2019                           68.2                                            -1.30
Source: data derived from Air New Zealand (2015b, 2016,2017b, 2019c)

4.6. The Waste-related Challenges assist Air New Zealand to keep compostable
Experienced by Air New Zealand    and recyclable waste out of landfills (Air
                                                                          New Zea la nd, 2 02 0a; You ng , 2 02 0).
At the time of the present study, Air New                                 Consequently, at the time of the present
Zealand was working on ways to further                                    study, Air New Zealand was investigating
segregate the waste that is collected inflight,                           the types of products that it purchases to
for instance, soft plastics and compostable                               ensure these can be processed in existing
waste. A major challenge confronted by                                    New Zealand waste facilities.
the airline, however, in reducing waste to
landfill, is the apparent shortage of recycling                           I n Ne w Z e a l a nd t he r e i s o n l y o ne
and composting infrastructure available for                               p o l y e t h y l e n e t e r e p h t h a l a t e (P E T)
Air New Zealand to send its waste material                                manufacturer, which potentially restricts the
to. More robust infrastructure across New                                 airline’s ability to environmentally dispose
Zealand, including in the regions, would                                  of such items. Also, during 2018, Air New

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Baxter G. Sustainable Airline Waste Management: A Case Study of air New Zealand’s Waste Management Programs and Strategies

Zealand was no longer able to send the                             California. It is envisaged that the program
volume of fabric type used in the company’s                        will be implemented in Chicago, Houston,
uniforms to local textile recycling plants (Air                    and San Francisco during 2020. Air New
New Zealand, 2018).                                                Zealand also work s ver y closely w ith
                                                                   Auckland International Airport’s waste
5. Conclusions                                                     management contractor. This collaborative
                                                                   relationship has enabled Air New Zealand
This paper has examined Air New Zealand’s                          to re-use in-flight products on subsequent
e nv i r on me nt a l l y s u s t a i n a ble w a s t e            flights.
management programs and strategies.
Despite the increasing impor tance of                              Air New Zealand has placed a very high
sustainable airline waste management,                              environmental awareness on how it manages
there has been relatively limited research                         wastes. A key strategy has been to reduce
undertaken on this phenomenon. Thus, this                          materials at the source, for instance, not
study adds some valuable insights to the                           offering water bottles on flights under five
literature. The study was underpinned by a                         hours duration. Air New Zealand has also
case study protocol and research framework                         been able to re-use its in-f light catering
that followed the recommendations of Stake                         waste through its collaboration with its in-
(1995, 2005) and Yin (2017).                                       flight caterer and the New Zealand Ministry
                                                                   for Primary Industries. This has diverted
As noted in the case study, a key element                          wastes that would have been previously been
in Air New Zealand’s waste management                              disposed by landfill. Recycling of wastes
strategy and policy to manage its wastes                           is another sustainable waste management
has been the collaborative arrangements                            strategy implemented by Air New Zealand.
with its in-f light caterer, LSG Sky Chefs,                        The airline recycles its wastes wherever
and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary                             possible, for example, PET bottles, office
Industries as part of its “Project Green”                          furniture is donated to charities as are
waste management program, which was                                uniforms, that present no security risk.
implemented in 2017. The “Project Green                            The airline has put together a dedicated
waste management program has enabled                               team whose aim is to raise the awareness
40 Air New Zealand inflight products, that                         of recycling of products wherever possible.
were previously disposed by landfill due to                        Air New Zealand is also highly strategic
biosecurity controls, to be reclassified so                        about who the company purchases products/
that these items could be reused on future                         materials from and what is purchased to
f lights if removed from an aircraft sealed                        ensure it meets customer, regulatory and
and untouched. Products approved under                             sustainability expectations. The airline is
the scheme include sealed beverages and                            also transitioning single-use plastic items
snacks (for example, cans of soft drink,                           to lower-impact alternatives. As a part of
packets of cookies, boxes of tea, packets of                       its Sustainability Policy, Air New Zealand
coffee and sugar sachets). Since its inception,                    has set waste disposal targets: zero waste to
Air New Zealand’s “Project Green” waste                            landfill from Auckland ground sites by end
management program has been implemented                            of the 2020 financial year, 75% diversion
in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington                          from landfill at non-Auckland ground sites
in New Zealand, as well as at Los Angeles,                         by the end of the 2019 financial year, and

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International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2020, 10(3): 351 - 370

50% of domestic jet inflight waste diverted                               Air New Zealand. 2015a. Annual data book 2015.
from landfill by the end of the 2019 financial                            Available from internet: .
and the data reported in the airline’s annual
sustainability report.                                                    Air New Zealand. 2015b. Sustainability report/2015.
                                                                          Available from internet: .
heterogeneous range of organic and in-
f light wastes. The wastes produced from                                  Air New Zealand. 2016. Sustainability report 2016.
the airline’s in-flight services, include plastic                         Available from internet: .
toothbrushes, straws, million stirrers, eye
mask wrappers, soft drink cans, packets of                                Air New Zealand. 2017a. Air New Zealand leads the way
cookies, boxes of tea, and packets of coffee.                             with inflight waste. Media Release 4 October. Available
                                                                          from internet: .
reducing waste to landfill, is the apparent lack
of recycling and composting infrastructure                                Air New Zealand. 2017b. Sustainability 2017. Available
available for the airline to dispose of its waste                         from internet: .
infrastructure located throughout New
Zealand, would assist Air New Zealand to                                  Air New Zealand. 2018. Sustainability report 2018.
keep compostable and recyclable waste out of                              Available from internet: .
Air New Zealand has been investigating
the types of products that it purchases to                                Air New Zealand. 2019a. Air New Zealand scores an
ensure these can be processed in existing                                 unprecedented double at ‘Oscars of the airline industry’.
New Zealand waste facilities. Other waste                                 Media Release 18 January. Available from internet:
management-related challenges include Air                                 .
uniforms to local textile recycling plants.
Also, there is only a single New Zealand-based                            Air New Zealand. 2019b. Annual data book 2019.
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) firm, which                              Available from internet: .
environmentally dispose of such items.
                                                                          Air New Zealand. 2019c. Sustainability report 2019.
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