Japan Airlines announces their steps towards reaching their sustainability goals by cutting food packaging and recycling waste into fertiliser.
Japan Airlines (JAL), Japan’s leading airline has set a goal to recycle all food and beverage waste from in-flight meals. The industry leader plans to become more sustainable by recycling all food waste through composting, to be used as fertiliser. JAL aims to reach a 100% target for fiscal 2025, which lasts into March 2026.
JAL Royal Catering reported a total of 48 tons of vegetable waste was produced in fiscal 2019, from which only 7.7% was recycled. JAL aims to reduce food waste starting at the initial source. Hence, a new approach will be taken to preparing food for in-flight meals, and the number of meals prepared will be curbed as well.
Outside the kitchen, JAL will address minimising food loss by increasing efficiency with unused inventory and leftover meals. Currently, every passenger boarding a flight is expected to receive a complimentary meal. However, for example, passengers who cancel in-flight meals before boarding will be rewarded with a free eye mask. By creating such incentives, JAL hopes to put these sustainability practices into place on all international flights by 2025.
Currently, like many other airline companies, JAL offers single-use plastic at the convenience of their customers. However, by the target year 2025, JAL hopes to eliminate the use of single-use plastic in passenger cabins and airport lounges.
At the moment, the airline company has already began efforts to reduce the volume of packaging for in-flight meals. In addition, Japan Airlines has explored using recyclable materials for packaging. With the world slowly opens back up, the airline industry foresees a heavy incoming demand for flights and travel. During this spike in the industry, JAL seeks to show more dedication to reaching their sustainability goals, and more advancements can be expected in the future.
Featured banner image: jalroyal.co.jp
Related Articles
Society 5.0:Japan’s Next Move to Advance Tech and Science
Upcycling Food Waste in Taiwan
This AI System Could Be the Solution to Cutting Down on Food Waste
