Ecoefficiency in aviation catering waste management through Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing

Ecoefficiency in aviation catering waste management through Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Ecoefficiency in aviation catering waste management through Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Gonzalo Blanca-Alcubilla, Sahar Azarkamand, Joan Ribas-Tur, Pere Fullana-i-Palmer, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526635/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Despite the initial decline in passenger numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant increase in air travel volumes was observed between 2021 and 2022. The aviation sector has shown continued growth in recent years. An increase in the number of passengers and the consumption of food and drinks during flights results in a rise in waste generation. Aviation is continually seeking solutions to minimize its environmental footprint. Implementing a more effective waste management system could be one such solution. The study conducted as part of the LIFE Zero Cabin Waste Project proposes the implementation of separate waste collection on airplanes. This initiative aims to increase the amount of recyclable waste diverted from landfills by introducing a selective on-board waste collection, complemented by bio-digestion processes. By employing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodologies, the study compares not only the environmental but also the economic performance of the current waste management system in 2016 (System A) with the proposed system throughout the project (System B) for treating 1,000 kg of aviation catering waste. The findings indicate that implementing the new management system would lead to reductions in various environmental impact categories, including fossil resource depletion, and global warming. In particular, the carbon footprint of the alternative management system is reduced by 85%. This operational change requires an initial investment that raises operational costs by 5%. Nevertheless, System B's eco-efficiency surpasses System A's for most environmental categories. For instance, the eco-efficiency regarding Global Warming Potential increases by 84%. Cabin Waste Management Aviation Catering Aircraft Carbon Footprint Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Life Cycle Costing (LCC) Full Text Supplementary Files HighlightsGonzalopaper.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major revisions 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7526635","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":514880829,"identity":"7e2cd862-ddba-4945-86c7-32a302ac4bb5","order_by":0,"name":"Gonzalo Blanca-Alcubilla","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Pompeu Fabra University: Universitat Pompeu Fabra","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gonzalo","middleName":"","lastName":"Blanca-Alcubilla","suffix":""},{"id":514880830,"identity":"0a7d20da-325e-4cd1-8247-b5220d158a7b","order_by":1,"name":"Sahar 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