From uniforms to carpets, how airline avoids waste

Etihad sends old cabin crew attire to be repurposed.

ABU DHABI // When Etihad Airways introduced a chic new outfit for its cabin crew in December, it was left with the dilemma of what to do with its old uniforms.

For environmental and security reasons, the clothing could not be dumped in landfill, so the UAE’s national airline opted for recycling.

The company hired the services of EnviroServe, a Dubai-based company that offers secure disposal of waste.

Stuart Fleming, company chief executive, said: “You can’t have the odd chance that they get collected and someone puts on a captain’s uniform.”

Many of the products his company deals with are either out of date, counterfeit, or pose a security issue. Police and cabin crew uniforms fall into this category.

Etihad and EnviroServe opted to send the uniforms to a factory in the Netherlands, which turned them into yarn.

This was then transformed into carpets, which will be used to line the floors of Etihad’s aircraft.

Three containers of old uniforms were sent to the Netherlands for recycling.

Linden Coppell, head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Etihad, said the airline had recycled more than four tonnes of old uniforms.

“These old uniforms were dethreaded and used to make carpets and other items at a facility in the Netherlands,” she said.

“Recycling uniforms is important from an environmental perspective as well as a security requirement.”

Etihad followed the lead of Dutch airline KLM, which in 2010 had to deal with nine tonnes of old uniforms after a livery rebrand. KLM decided to turn the old uniforms into handbags with the help of an entrepreneur, Omar Munie, a recycling expert who works in the same field as the company that undertook the Etihad recycling project.

Aside from recycling uniforms, Etihad’s cabin crew collect about 4,000 plastic bottles and 400 aluminium cans for recycling every day.

As part of their in-flight procedure, the crew separates glass, bottles and plastics in the air ready to recycle after the flight has touched down.

“As part of our training we are meant to do a lot of recycling on the plane, so I guess it’s a part of our philosophy in the air,” said S A, a stewardess.

Ms Coppell said packaging waste amounts to about 70 tonnes each month.

“This is bundled and sent for recycling, together with nearly 30 tonnes per month of in-flight newspapers and magazines,” she said.

“About 25 tonnes of glass items, primarily bottles, are recovered for recycling every month from the Etihad fleet.”

She said it was important to get the entire company involved in the process, so cabin crew are advised that recycling starts with them.