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Waste

Waste management is arguably one of the most challenging environmental issues of our times. We are fast running out of landfill capacity and new legislation will significantly affect the way waste is managed.

British Airways has identified waste reduction and management as a key area for our environment programme. In support of this we launched a waste initiative in 2005 and set some challenging targets to promote waste reduction and increase recycling. Individual departments have contributed projects to help deliver the targets, e.g. the Engineering department has reduced the number of hazardous materials and has started to recycle used aerosol cans.

Waste generated

  • General waste - paper/plastic etc generated from office buildings.
  • Hazardous waste – engineering type wastes including oils, lubricants and cleaning materials.
  • Catering waste - produced from the catering supplied to passengers on board aircraft, key airport lounges and staff restaurants.
  • Cabin waste – general waste such as newspapers and magazines.
  • Electrical waste – from information technology and communications equipment.

Objectives

  • Reduce waste per passenger.
  • Increase the proportion of waste recovered/recycled.
  • Reduce the reliance on landfill as a method of disposal.
  • Reduce the cost of waste disposal.

For the latest information on waste volumes and trends, refer to the British Airways Corporate Responsibility Report.