Recycling above the clouds
It's possible to reduce the amount of waste and recycle even at an altitude of 10 kilometres.
Millions of customers travel with us annually, so recycling, packaging of products used on flights, and food waste management matter.
About 80 percent of Finnair's waste is generated on flights or in the operations of Finnair Kitchen, which is responsible for flight meal services. Therefore, improvements made on flights and in the kitchen are particularly significant - small things become big when multiplied by the around 100,000 flights we operate annually, says Anne Bäckström, Quality Manager responsible for recycling at Finnair Kitchen.
Our approach: Less waste, more recycling
Finnair has two circular economy metrics that we monitor particularly closely: recycling rate and the amount of waste generated per passenger. We want to keep the amount of waste as small as possible and, on the other hand, recycle as much of the generated waste as possible.
Last year, Finnair's recycling rate was 29%. The rate is low because recycling international food waste is restricted by legislation. To prevent the spread of animal and plant diseases, the waste must be incinerated instead.
"Last year, 70 percent of all waste generated in our catering operations was international food waste. This includes both food waste and packaging that have been in contact with food returning from outside the EU," Anne explains.
Finnair’s overall recycling rate has been increasing every year since 2021, when it was 22%. According to Anne, this improvement has been achieved through small streams and by recycling other materials as efficiently as possible.
"Currently, we can recycle aluminum cans, glass bottles, clear plastic bottles, clear plastic meal covers, and biowaste packaged in cardboard or plastic returning from European flights, from the waste generated on aircraft."
The latest source of progress: blueberry juice cartons
Quite recently, we have also started recycling cardboard on flights arriving at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The recycling potential for cardboard is significant: we deliver about one million cartons of blueberry juice and 14 million cardboard cups to our flights annually. But it comes with a challenge: space is limited inside any aircraft.
"It's not possible to add extra trolleys to flights for sorting the fractions, but during a test period, we were able to make room in the existing trolleys.
Enabling the recycling of juice cartons and plastic (rPET) and cardboard cups matters. Disposable cups form a significant part of the waste generated during flights. About five years ago, a Finnair passenger used an average of 2.4 cups during a flight. Today, the number is 1.8, which means around 28 tons less waste a year.
Less waste means less energy
In recent years, Finnair has also redesigned the packaging of products sold on flights and reduced packaging materials. Food waste is also generated less than before, as customers have more choice in terms of pre-ordered products.
While around five years ago, 340 grams of waste was generated per passenger, last year it was 240 grams. This figure includes waste generated in our operations at our home base Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and on return flights.
"Delivering fresh products according to orders is important on a flight because everything that adds weight consumes more energy, and products cannot be returned from the flight for reuse," Anne explains.
You can pre-order meals when booking flights, via the Manage booking page, the Finnair app or during online check-in, depending on the availability. You can read more about pre-order meals here.