LUTON, UNITED KINGDOM – Award winning airline Monarch is rolling out its onboard recycling programme to include flights from Manchester, meaning that all aluminium, plastic, glass and paper used during a flight will now be recycled on landing.

Monarch has pioneered the scheme since 2007, ahead of other UK carriers, as part of its MAP initiative (Monarch and the Planet), through which all aspects of the airline’s business are being evaluated as it strives to improve its environmental footprint. The launch of the onboard recycling scheme in Manchester on 01 December 2009 follows successful launches in Gatwick and Birmingham over the past few years, where feedback from passengers and crew has been positive.

The scheme will see all recyclable items, such as aluminium drinks cans, plastic wine and water bottles, glass wine and champagne bottles plus newspapers/magazines placed into a separate recycling bag by cabin crew during the flight. This will subsequently be passed over to cleaning staff at Manchester Airport on the flight’s arrival for recycling.

Commenting on the launch of the scheme, managing director of Monarch Airlines, Tim Jeans said, “Monarch has been operating a full onboard recycling programme on flights into Gatwick and Birmingham for a number of years and is delighted to be extending this to include services in Manchester.

“With 70 per cent of the waste generated in the cabin being potentially recyclable, Monarch has been working with Manchester Airport on the initiative to ensure that the recyclable waste is removed from the aircraft on arrival and recycled appropriately. We are looking to extend the scheme to include all Monarch flights over the coming months and we urge our other UK and European airports to introduce the necessary recycling infrastructure to allow us to do so”.