Reusable versus disposables in air catering service from a life cycle perspective

While the shift to reusable items and circular models in air catering holds significant promise for reducing single-use plastics and promoting sustainability, poorly designed systems can indeed backfire and even worsen environmental impacts. Quantifying the full life cycle impacts is crucial to avoid unintended consequences. We propose a two-step modelling approach utilizing life cycle assessment to capture the dynamics and complexity of the multi-cycle process of the reusable cold beverage cup system for serving one air passenger. First, we analyze the environmental impacts associated with the entire lifecycle of a single reusable polypropylene cup, including production, delivery, sanitation, uplifting, onboard service, unloading, and end-of-life treatment, alongside impacts from auxiliary items such as packaging and onboard equipment. Second, we scale these per-cup impacts to reflect the total environmental effects per passenger, using factors co-determined by multi-cycle times, catering logistics, flight distance and duration, and cup consumption and loss rates. Contrary to conventional sustainability narratives, results demonstrate that reusable cup systems may generate higher environmental impacts than single-use alternatives across multiple impact categories when evaluated under equivalent operational scenarios. Notably, auxiliary system components, particularly in-flight catering trolleys and drawers, contribute disproportionately to overall impacts. The research also identifies four critical leverage points for improving reusable system performance: avoiding unnecessary loading, enhancing ground infrastructure, developing cross-airline collaboration models, and improving passenger education.