Singapore Air recycled more in-flight waste than earlier report

Singapore Airlines Ltd. revised its rate of in-flight waste recycling upward ahead of its annual general meeting Monday after receiving new data from its local catering company.

The city-state’s national carrier said it recycled 11% of waste generated in flight, or 393 metric tons, in the 2023/24 financial year, much higher than the 1.7% it stated last week. The upward revision came after queries from Bloomberg News about the airline’s recycling stance.

“After your queries, we conducted further checks with our Singapore in-flight caterer and received an updated figure on the amount of glass waste collected on board our aircraft in the 2023/24 financial year,” the airline said in a statement.

Recycling and a broader focus on the environment, including sustainable aviation fuel, has become a much bigger focus for airlines and investors as the aviation industry attempts to reach a challenging goal of net zero by 2050. To do that, carriers and planemakers will need to invest trillions of dollars, both in cleaner fuels and less polluting aircraft.

While things like making planes lighter by removing heavier items such as bulky blankets and magazines and reducing single-use plastics are important, bigger gains will come from using sustainable aviation fuel and deploying more environmentally friendly jets.

Singapore Air significantly understated how much glass waste it recycled — 368.1 metric tons rather than 29.6 metric tons — taking its fiscal year total to 393 metric tons. By comparison, the airline recycled about 15% of its in-flight waste in 2022/23. 

It also revised its recycling volume in the 2019/20 fiscal year, raising its recycling to 670 metric tons from 388 metric tons once glass waste recycling data was added.

The carrier in its statement last week was initially responding to queries from shareholders about its recycling, and pointed out restrictive legislation against international catering waste in many jurisdictions posed a “major obstacle.”

Singapore Air’s recycling rate still lags some of its peers. 

According to company filings, United Airlines Holding Inc.’s 2023 recycling rate is about 16%, Korean Air Lines Co. comes in at around 68% and Qantas Airways Ltd. at about 23%. 

Singapore Air has come under fire for its sustainability efforts before — albeit in a different context. 

Last year, it ran a trial using paper boxes for economy-class food on medium- and long-haul flights, but didn’t end up implementing the change widely after it was criticized on social media for appearing cheap. 

Short-haul flight catering in economy still uses paper boxes and bamboo cutlery, however.