As part of World Environment Day, Emirates shared its sustainability initiatives, revealing that it has recycled over 88 tons of plastic—from in-flight catering products that have reached the end of their useful life—into new products over the past year. Through this initiative, the airline is not only reducing waste but also making a significant contribution to circular economy goals.
Celebrating World Environment Day, Emirates shared the impressive results of its closed-loop recycling program, which it launched in June 2023. Over the past year, the airline has reprocessed more than 88,000 kilograms of plastic from in-flight meal service equipment used in Economy Class, transforming it into new products for use on aircraft.
In line with its environmental sustainability goals, Emirates has invested over 50 million dirhams to transition to a closed-loop production model for its in-flight catering equipment. Economy Class trays, meal containers, snack service items, and bowls that have reached the end of their useful life or have been damaged are collected after flights, cleaned, inspected, and reprocessed at a specialized facility in Dubai. At the end of this process, new service products containing up to 25% recycled material are produced. The manufactured equipment is then delivered to Emirates Flight Catering and reused on thousands of flights.
Millions of trays, bowls, and service items are used annually across Emirates’ global flight network. The program significantly reduces the amount of plastic waste sent to landfills, while also aiming to lower logistics-related emissions by conducting recycling and production processes locally.
The program is being carried out in collaboration with deSter FZE UAE, a company operating in the field of service equipment for the aviation sector and specializing in closed-loop production. As a member of the CE100 network, which brings together the world’s leading circular economy organizations, deSter holds a “Gold” sustainability rating from Ecovadis, an internationally recognized authority on sustainable practices. The facility also incorporates sustainable design principles such as solar energy use, efficient water management, and waste reduction practices.
