LATAM Airlines Group has unveiled a new ‘Recycle your Journey’ programme.
The system will recycle waste from Mercado LATAM, the company’s buy-on-board food service. Starting this month, Mercado LATAM packaging will be recycled on all domestic flights in Chile, separating aluminium, glass and plastic.
As part of the airline group’s wider sustainability strategy and its commitment to being a leader in on-board recycling, this initiative will be gradually introduced throughout LATAM’s operation in Latin America.
Ignacio Cueto, president of LATAM Airlines Group, said: “As one of the three most sustainable airline groups in the world, we are committed to bringing about change and leading by example.
“Today’s launch of our ‘Recycle your Journey’ programme on domestic flights in Chile represents just the first step towards the introduction of on-board recycling across our network.”
Cueto added that one of the most important attributes of ‘Recycle your Journey’ is collaboration: “Without the support and willingness of our passengers and the commitment of our cabin crew, on-board recycling is not possible.”
Between August and December, LATAM expects that it will recycle more than 20 tons of waste from domestic flights in Chile.
This is the first stage of the company’s on-board recycling programme with the goal of recycling 100 per cent of Mercado LATAM packaging in the future.
By the end of 2020, the company expects to recycle more than 55 tons of on-board waste per year.
The programme will be implemented in several stages, starting with the Mercado LATAM service offering passengers the opportunity to buy food and drink on-board.
Following the service, the cabin crew will collect waste packaging from passengers, separating aluminum, glass and plastic.
On arrival, LATAM’s partner LSG Sky Chefs will receive the separated waste in order to transport it to local recycling centers.
The initiative has been in development for over a year and has included four trial programmes to define and fine-tune the process, including the on-board separation of recyclable waste.
Currently, aluminum, glass and plastics are being recycled. (https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/latam-launches-on-board-recycling-scheme/)
