Reducing In-Flight Waste

• Airlines generate millions of tons of in-flight waste annually, much of which often ends up in a landfill, negatively impacting our planet. Operational priorities and efficiencies have left the issue largely unaddressed, even in a society moving towards more environmentally conscious behavior. 
• Predictive meal forecasting, tray scanning, and passenger meal choice can help reduce food surplus and food waste, while also saving airlines money.
• Airlines can invest in infrastructure and eco-friendly materials to make recycling more operationally feasible and appealing to passengers. 
• Social norms, commitments, and clear cues encourage passengers to sort waste properly, reducing diffusion of responsibility and making sustainable behaviors easier and more consistent.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 0.94 kg of waste was generated per passenger per flight in 2023, totaling 3.6 million tons of cabin waste.¹ Most of this ends up incinerated or landfilled, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and harming the environment.

However, there’s no reason most of the material used during a flight should end up in a landfill. According to a Natural Resources Defense Council report, 75% of in-flight waste is recyclable.² The challenge is that recycling is a low priority for airlines and passengers. Flight attendants must balance a range of duties during a flight, including safety procedures and delivering a positive passenger experience, so proper waste disposal often takes a back seat.

The desire to deliver the best possible experience also often means that airlines overstock food and options for passengers, resulting in many uneaten meals that go to waste. Passengers don’t see recycling or waste management as part of their responsibility, leading to environmentally harmful behaviors they might not exhibit elsewhere. 

Operational efficiency further contributes to the challenge. Airlines emphasize quick turnaround times, which means that even if waste is properly sorted during the flight, it’s often easier to consolidate it once on the ground. Sustainable practices, such as using reusable materials, are also often more expensive, and airlines may be unwilling to absorb this additional cost.

Taken together, these factors reveal a persistent challenge: the environmental impact of in-flight waste is not just about materials, but about priorities, incentives, and human behavior. Understanding these systemic barriers sets the stage for exploring how behavioral science can nudge airlines and passengers toward more sustainable practices.

Food waste is one of the largest categories of in-flight waste. IATA audits suggest that 20–25% of in-flight waste is untouched food that ends up in landfills, leading to the production of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.³

On long-haul flights, when passengers are offered complimentary meals, they typically receive a tray with their chosen meal as well as sides, desserts, and beverages. Whether due to dietary restrictions, preferences, or levels of hunger, many of these items often go untouched. When it’s time for the flight attendant to collect trays, everything—touched or not—goes straight into a waste bin. On top of it being more efficient for the crew, many airlines also must adhere to strict health regulations. In-flight waste is often treated with the same level of controls for animal disease, which means that any catering waste is deemed potentially biohazardous and must be disposed of rather than recycled or reused.⁴

A major driver of in-flight food waste is the need for airlines to predict the number of meals (and options) to carry onboard. They can estimate based on data from previous flights and how many passengers will be on board, but it’s not an exact science. Last-minute bookings or cancellations, as well as no-shows, all make it challenging to make accurate predictions. Moreover, as food is an important part of the customer experience, airlines would prefer to have a surplus to ensure they can accommodate all passengers, even if this leads to more waste. 

Beyond its environmental impact, carrying unnecessary food on board is also costly for an airline. Maintaining a surplus of meals “just in case” adds to both catering and fuel costs. Each additional kilogram of weight costs an airline roughly $0.675. If an airline operates only five flights per day, that amounts to an estimated $4,210 per extra kilogram annually,⁵ and most major airlines operate a few thousand flights daily. 

The combination of environmental impact, operational inefficiency, and financial cost makes in-flight food waste a pressing challenge for airlines. Not only does discarded food contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but it also represents a direct financial loss and an added operational burden. With millions of meals served every year, even small inefficiencies can scale into significant waste and unnecessary fuel consumption.

Historically, airlines have determined how many meals to carry onboard based on the number of passengers booked when they made their catering order—typically between 6 and 48 hours before departure, depending on the length of the flight. However, artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to make more informed and timely predictions. AI can analyze data from previous flights of similar size and duration, while also accounting for last-minute changes. 

In 2024, KML introduced the Meals on Board System, an AI system developed specifically for the airline. The system receives the expected passenger numbers for each class seventeen days prior to departure, but as new bookings are made, it updates its predictions up until 20 minutes before the flight departs. In the first three months of adopting this technology, KML reduced food waste by 63%. For one major airport, an average of 2.5 fewer meals per flight were wasted. While that number may seem small, it amounts to 111,000 kg in meals saved annually across all KML flights catered from that airport.⁶ 

Technology can also be used to better understand what food is typically wasted, so that airlines can make adjustments to their meal offerings. Airbus developed a prototype “Food Scanner,” powered by AI, designed to support in-flight sustainability by analyzing food composition on trays in flight attendants’ trolleys, then capturing what remains when trays are returned.⁷ 

This can provide valuable data for predictive systems for future flights, while also offering insights into the food passengers consume. If most trays are being returned half-full, the airline could reduce the size of meals. If there’s a particular product that’s often unopened, the airline could replace it with another option. This not only reduces waste but also helps airlines improve the passenger experience. 

It’s also not hard to imagine that such a food scanner could assist with the sorting of food waste. Although there are strict regulations for the disposal of in-flight waste, most countries allow food and other materials to be recycled or reused as long as they do not come into contact with animal products. A scanner can analyze the various components of food and detect the risk of contamination, helping airlines determine which items must be disposed of.⁴

There may even be opportunities for airlines to donate this unopened food to local food banks or charities. In 2021, Swiss International Airlines teamed up with the app Too Good to Go to sell unsold fresh food items at a lower price.⁸ 

Another option for airlines is to ask passengers to either choose their meal ahead of time or pay for their meal before the flight. Most airlines offer passengers the option to check in online 24 hours before the flight, where passengers have to answer a series of questions to complete the process. An additional step could prompt passengers to select a meal—or opt out—on flights where food is complimentary, or to prepay for meals where food is an added cost. For passengers who pay ahead of time, due to the sunk cost fallacy, they are less likely to let their food go to waste because they’ve already invested money into it. 

In 2024, Singapore Airlines launched its “Book the Cook” initiative, which allowed passengers in premium seats to preselect their meals before their flight, allowing precise meal planning. Moreover, the program allowed the airline to offer premium economy passengers a selection of 20 main course options, enhancing the customer experience.⁹

By leveraging AI-driven forecasting, food scanning technology, and pre-selection programs, airlines can dramatically reduce in-flight food waste. Fewer surplus meals not only lower disposal costs but also reduce the weight of aircraft, saving fuel and operational expenses—making these solutions both financially and environmentally beneficial.

On a typical flight, plastic is everywhere: cups, cutlery, food trays, food wrappers, plastic-wrapped blankets, and plastic earbuds. The aviation industry’s reliance on single-use plastic has its benefits. For passengers, it’s lightweight and sanitary—individually wrapped items reduce concerns about cleanliness. For airlines, single-use plastics are cheap and disposable, making it easy for flight crew as they make their way down to aisles. These materials are also lightweight and compact—crucial in the confined space of an aircraft. However, these benefits come at a great cost: the health of our planet. 

According to a 2018 study into in-flight waste, the airline industry generates 6.1 million tons of plastic waste annually, accounting for over 50% of aircraft waste and contributing 2% of global plastic waste.¹⁰ Hard to visualize that? Airlines carrying approximately 50 million passengers per year produce waste equivalent to the volume of 80 Boeing 747 jumbo jets.¹¹

In response to a society increasingly invested in sustainability, some airlines have begun introducing biodegradable or compostable alternatives or using reusable cups and cutlery. However, not all airlines have made the shift, as alternative materials often cost more. According to an IATA survey, 83% respondents said that increased costs were the biggest deterrent for moving away from single-use plastic products.¹² 

Another barrier to sustainable alternatives is sanitation. Many airlines had begun to replace some of their single-use plastics in 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic heightened health and safety measures, which caused many to pause or cancel these initiatives.¹² 

Even for airlines willing to take on the extra cost or invest in proper sanitation, change is limited if waste is not sorted during the flight. For airlines, efficiency and quality service remain a bigger priority than sustainability. When a flight attendant is passing through an aisle, they’re already juggling different responsibilities—sorting waste simply isn’t feasible without clear incentives. Doing it after landing isn’t realistic either: airlines prioritize quick turnaround times, and any time a plane spends at the gate represents lost revenue. 

Moreover, for international travel, flights are subject to regulatory inspections and special disposable requirements, which make recycling challenging.⁴ Unless reusable and biodegradable materials are properly sorted and handled, they still end up in landfills—undermining airlines’ sustainability commitments.

Airlines will continue to use single-use plastics as it aligns with their priorities: efficiency and profitability. It’s also a classic case of the status quo bias—the tendency to stick with what’s familiar. Overcoming this inertia will require the right mix of incentives and motivation.

To convince airlines to make the shift to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products, they must be incentivized. Increasingly, people are becoming more environmentally conscious and could be drawn to airlines that demonstrate sustainable practices. However, meaningful change is unlikely if it increases costs for airlines. While the government has a responsibility to introduce policies and fines to put pressure on airlines to adopt sustainable practices, for this opportunity, we will focus on innovations that airports and airlines can implement—cost-effective, easy-to-adopt solutions that offer both environmental and financial benefits.

Currently, the cost of waste handling is a fixed service charge at most airports, with no distinction between recycling and landfill waste. This means that there’s no financial incentive for airlines to properly sort materials.⁴ If, however, airports charged less for handling and disposing of recycling, airlines would be motivated to minimize their waste, both through sorting methods and also by switching to materials that can be recycled.

To avoid putting extra burden on flight attendants or delaying flights, airlines must also ensure that the infrastructure being used onboard supports sorting. This can be achieved with relatively simple changes. In May 2019, Iberia introduced new trolleys equipped with compartmentalized bins to separate paper and cardboard from other waste types. It is believed these trolleys would add more than 300 tons of recycled waste annually.¹³ 

There are also opportunities for airlines to directly financially benefit from recycling. In 2022, Emirates collected discarded water bottles left on flights and managed to recycle more than 500,000 kilograms of plastic and glass. These recycled bottles were then turned into sustainable blankets offered to passengers.¹⁴ Beyond enhancing the passenger experience, airlines could repurpose recycling materials into saleable products, creating new revenue streams. 

Airlines can also get more creative with their alternative materials. Offering bamboo cutlery may not excite passengers, but handing them an edible cookie cup just might. That’s what Air New Zealand trialed in 2019—passengers were handed vanilla biscotti cups for hot drinks or for holding desserts.¹⁵

People enjoy novel experiences, and this pilot program helps Air New Zealand differentiate itself. While it may come at a slightly increased initial cost for the airline, it could lead to increased passenger preference for the carrier. Due to novelty bias, people may overestimate the value of something because it feels new. Additionally, providing passengers with edible containers eliminates the need to collect or recycle traditional cups,  reducing cleanup tasks for flight attendants. 

These examples demonstrate how airlines can make sustainability appealing, incentivizing better waste practices while unlocking new revenue streams and marketing opportunities. Ultimately, when sustainability aligns with both operational ease and passenger appeal, airlines are more likely to adopt lasting, meaningful practices.

One of the contributors to in-flight waste is passengers themselves. While passengers can’t control the materials, their food and drinks are served to them in, they do have agency in how they dispose of those items. Unfortunately, people are notoriously bad at cleaning up after themselves in-flight. They may put plastic wraps in their seat compartment, drop food on the floor, or toss everything into the garbage bin when a flight attendant comes around, without attempting to separate recycling. This results in the effort all being placed on staff, who, as we’ve explored, are already busy and working towards quick turnarounds. 

In part, this is due to a diffusion of responsibility. As they expect airline staff to clean up after them, people do not feel as obligated to participate in waste management. This helps explain why passenger behavior often diverges from how they act at home. It’s unlikely someone would leave waste on their table at home, or not bother to separate trash from recycling, but passengers are expecting someone else to clean up after them on a flight. 

Passengers may also fail to separate their waste because of a lack of knowledge and unclear cues. When traveling, people often operate with reduced cognitive capability, whether due to jet lag, lack of sleep, or stress. Asking passengers to also make nuanced waste-sorting decisions (“Is this wrapper compostable?”) at 35,000 feet is unrealistic. Even when at home, people are often confused about what is recyclable. According to a 2021 survey, fewer than half of Americans who recycle actually know the basics.¹⁶ So even if passengers want to help, limited knowledge and cognitive load make mistakes likely. 

In-flight waste management needs to be reconceptualized as a shared responsibility between passengers and crew, but passengers must also be given the right cues and guidelines to be able to effectively do their part. By understanding the behavioral biases behind passenger inaction and designing choice architecture that makes recycling easy, airlines can make passengers part of the solution to in-flight waste. 

Reducing in-flight waste isn’t just about swapping plastics for compostables—it’s about designing the passenger experience so that sustainable choices happen naturally. By leveraging social norms, commitment mechanisms, and intuitive cues, airlines can turn fleeting attention into consistent, eco-friendly behavior.

Research shows that descriptive norms are more effective than injunctive norms at encouraging environmentally friendly behaviors. Descriptive norms play into our desire to adhere to social norms, as it guide people to what is appropriate behavior. Many studies have shown this as a useful tactic for towel reuse in hotels. A 2014 study found that when an appeal included a descriptive norm, 44% of guests reused their towel, compared to 35% when an injunctive norm was used.¹⁷ 

Airlines should tailor their messaging accordingly. For example, messages like  “Together, our passengers helped save 20 kg of waste on flights last year” instead of messages such as “Passengers should recycle their waste,” or “Help reduce in-flight waste to support the environment.” Descriptive norm messaging will also demonstrate to passengers that waste management is partially their responsibility, helping to combat diffusion of responsibility bias. 

People are also more likely to follow through on commitments that they’ve made due to commitment bias. When we’ve made a commitment, we want to appear reliable and consistent, acting like an external pressure to follow through. When passengers check in for their flight, they could be prompted with a question like: “Will you help us make this a zero-waste flight by properly disposing of your in-flight waste?” Most passengers would select yes, wanting to exhibit socially desirable behavior, and are then more likely to adhere to that behavior once on the flight.

This technique has been used to promote waste sorting in other environments, where people who had signed a pledge to participate increased waste sorting participation by 30% compared to those who did not sign a pledge. The tactic was especially effective in the short term, making it ideal for flights, where passengers commit shortly before they must act.¹⁸

Even if passengers feel a sense of responsibility, it has to be an easy choice for passengers. First, they must have the knowledge of what materials go where. Similar to what you may find in an apartment building recycling room, airlines could place cards in seat compartments that indicate how to dispose of different materials commonly used on a flight. This guidance is especially important on flights that don’t offer complimentary meals, as many passengers bring their own food and packaging onboard. 

Color cues can also be very beneficial in environments and situations that are cognitively demanding, such as traveling, as they effectively capture attention. Any materials used in-flight could be clearly color-labeled to designate if they are recyclable. A flight attendant could then make her way through the cabin with bins that match the label colors, making it obvious to passengers which items go where, reducing the likelihood of contaminated waste. Alternatively, airlines could use distinct tray icons to show passengers to put their recycling on one side of the tray and waste on the other, making it easy for flight attendants to sort the trays after collection. 

Taken together, these interventions illustrate that meaningful reductions in in-flight waste are achievable without sacrificing service or efficiency by addressing the behavioral gaps that typically prevent passengers from sorting waste properly. 

While passengers and airlines can do their part in helping to reduce in-flight waste, a fundamental limitation remains: regulatory constraints. Even if behavioral interventions are used to incentivize airlines to follow sustainable practices, reduce excess catered foods, or nudge passengers to sort their waste properly, these can be undermined if authorities still treat in-flight waste with strict regulations. Without regulatory flexibility, even sorted or compostable materials may still be classified as general waste, nullifying the impact of passenger and crew effort.

Moreover, airlines operate in a highly regulated, operationally constrained environment. Profitability and efficiency will always remain the top priorities—outweighing sustainability unless pressure comes from regulators or passengers to adopt pro-environment behaviors. 

The environmental impact of air travel is an increasing concern as society grapples with climate change and environmental degradation. In-flight waste is one of those impacts, with airlines contributing tons of waste each year, that leads to greenhouse gas emissions. Due to inefficient food catering, underdeveloped infrastructure, and limited compliance with waste management among crew and passengers, vast amounts of recyclable and reusable materials end up in landfills. While the materials and methods currently used offer a practical function, they are causing long-term environmental harm. 

The sustainable choice must be the easy choice for airlines and passengers if we are to see real change. This can be achieved by making data-informed catering decisions, investing in infrastructure that reduces the burden on flight crew, and nudging passengers toward responsible in-flight behavior. Applying these solutions across fleets, airports, and international carriers has the potential to transform millions of passengers’ daily behaviors and reduce aviation’s environmental footprint at scale. Coordinating efforts across regulatory frameworks, airline operations, and passenger engagement is essential to maximize the impact of these interventions.

Understanding the behavioral science behind why airlines and passengers treat waste management the way they do is the first step towards addressing the issue. At The Decision Lab, we use these insights to design interventions that nudge both groups toward more sustainable behaviors. We can support you in bringing about a sustainable future thanks to our understanding of consumer behavior. Together, we can make sustainability the default choice at 35,000 feet—and beyond.

The Banned Wagon: Are Bans the Best Way to Solve the Plastic Problem?

One of the environmental practices that spread like wildfire was the plastic straw movement, thanks to marketing strategies and celebrity endorsements. However, one of the primary reasons why people have been quick to adopt this practice is because they have agency in their decision of whether or not to use a straw. In this article, Hannah Potts explores why strict rules may actually weaken the movement. 

Mind the Gap: Environmental Behavior and Observed Consequences

While many people understand that climate change is real and will have dangerous consequences, that doesn’t always motivate people to engage in sustainable practices. That’s because we learn from observing the outcomes of our actions, and environmental consequences are often invisible and long-term. In this article, Tim Douglas discusses the gap between our actions and observed consequences and suggests social norms should be leveraged to nudge people towards sustainable practices.

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