Every year on April 22nd, ICAO joins the global community in celebrating Earth Day. This year, the theme of Earth Day is “Planet vs. Plastics,” highlighting the health and environmental hazards posed by plastic around the world. Every year, millions of tons of plastic waste end up in oceans and landfills. This plastic enters different ecosystems and food chains, harms wildlife, and pollutes our environment. Plastic pollution has become a global crisis and is now more than ever a problem that calls for international cooperation and global actions from all sectors.
Actions from all sectors and stakeholders are required to ensure a transition to a less plastic-dependent economy by eliminating and substituting unnecessary and hazardous plastic production and packaging, especially single-use plastics (SUP).
Fortunately, the international community has taken notice, and momentum is building towards meaningful action. Within the United Nations, discussions and initiatives surrounding plastic pollution have gained traction, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts to reduce its adverse effects.
To address the challenge presented by plastics, the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a historic resolution in 2022 (UNEA Resolution 5/14) “to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution”, including in the marine environment, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024. The resolution (5/14) requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop this work.
This year, for Earth Day 2024, ICAO is turning attention to its work on the use of single-use plastics in aviation.
In aviation, we use a lot of plastic—from cups and cutlery on planes to packaging for food and supplies. Given how much impact they have, we need to find better ways to deal with them. Airlines and airports have already started to make changes with the use of the circular economy concept, but we need to do more, and we need to work together.
ICAO is closely following INC developments as an observer organization, to monitor the ongoing negotiations on plastic pollution and look at possible modalities to contribute to this process. The INC is meeting this week in Ottawa, Canada, for it’s 4th Meeting (INC-4) from 23-29 April to further work on the current draft text of the upcoming Plastic Treaty. The fifth and final session of the INC (INC-5) is scheduled to take place from 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea. The session will be preceded by regional consultations.
Just a few days before INC-4, ICAO brought the topic of plastics into aviation discussions, by dedicating a specific session on this topic at the ICAO Green Airports Seminar, held in Athens, Greece, from 18-19 April. This event provided a unique opportunity to a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss the environmental transition of airports and showcase their own environmental initiatives, share their experience and lessons-learned, increasing awareness, as well as enhancing dialogue and cooperation towards a sustainable future.
The Seminar covered a broad spectrum of environmental airport activities and operations, including discussions on the implementation of the ICAO long-term global aspirational goal (LTAG), and on the aviation cleaner energy transition set in motion with the adoption of the ICAO Global Framework for aviation cleaner energies.
The Green Airports Seminar also covered emerging environmental topics beyond climate change mitigation that are also essential to address, such as climate change adaptation, circular economy, biodiversity, and the challenges of plastic usage in aviation.
The Session on Plastics debuted with a video message from UNEP from Mr. Steven Stone, Deputy Director of the Industry and Economy Division at UNEP who highlighted the need, and the significant role of the aviation industry’s involvement, in the global efforts against plastic pollution, while also provided aviation stakeholders with key updates on the current UN initiatives underway on this important topic.
Mr. Stone’s key message set the tone for the in-sector discussions that followed on the topic by an insightful panel of speakers that included Ms. Nathalie Herbelles, Vice President, Industry Affairs and Sustainability Airports Council International (ACI) World, Mr. Jon Godson, Assistant Director Corporate Sustainability, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and finally, Mr. Grégoire James, Commercial Director and Founder, International Aviation Waste Management Association (IAWMA).
ACI presented the airport’s perspective, with Ms. Herbelles sharing global best practice examples on how airports around the world are tackling the plastic issue, while emphasizing the need for collaboration and ICAO’s involvement in this endeavour. Mr. Godson shared the challenges faced by the airline sector on this topic, underlining the importance of simplified SUP regulations and a sectoral approach that considers the unique characteristics of international aviation. Mr. Godson pointed to the recent publication of IATA’s new Report titled “Reassessing single-use plastic products in the airline sector” that presents the opportunities and challenges of replacement of SUP in aviation and advocates for a sectoral approach to managing SUP in the sector, with a clear set of recommendations for airlines, regulators and supply chain.
Finally, Mr. James of IAWMA presented on the integration of circular economy into the aviation sector can transform how it manages waste, from single-use plastics to broader waste management practices, while also emphasizing that collaboration, partnerships and education will be needed to achieve the collective goal of plastic pollution mitigation.
Overall, the panel enabled Seminar participants to explore innovative alternatives and ways to tackle regulatory challenges, while also covering the economic impacts of potential measures. It is clear that the industry is committed to overcoming these hurdles through collaboration among all stakeholders, including airlines, airports, and passengers.
This new Toolkit will come in addition to e-publication on Waste Management at Airports that already provides basics of waste management at the airport site, including environmentally friendly practices, and the concept of circular economy, which can also minimize waste and plastic pollution. The strong linkage between plastic pollution and circular economy was highlighted recently by UNEP with its release in 2023 of the Turning off the Tap Report. Circular economy, an important concept for aviation, has the potential to reshape the whole supply chain from product design to end-of-life management. Numerous opportunities exist, such as reusing and recycling end-of-life aircraft materials, reducing and valorizing waste during flights and in ground infrastructures, reducing energy, water and raw material consumption. As the Green Airports Seminar discussions demonstrated, manufacturers, airlines and airports are ready to support ICAO this work, with more expected to join in the future.