Journey Through the Airport

Follow a typical traveler through 5 stages where plastic use is structurally imposed at every step.

Step 1: Security Check

Security regulations require all liquids to be placed in clear plastic bags. This isn’t optional—it’s mandated by law.

Passengers have not been allowed to take liquids of more than 100ml through security at airports.

If you take liquids in your hand luggage, you must put containers of liquids into a clear resealable plastic bag which holds no more than 1 litre and measures about 20cm x 20cm.
source: gov.uk

Step 2: Water Access

Airports typically place water dispensers in post-security boarding areas.

Even regular reusable bottle users still tend to purchase bottled water during travel, with 42% choosing to do so at airports.

More than six in 10 don’t buy bottled water if tap water is available (64%), although 59% would worry about the cleanliness of public water taps, fountains and dispenses and a third (31%) worry about the cleanliness of tap water, be it in the home or in public places.

source: keepbritaintidy.org

Step 3: Food Packaging

Food and beverage outlets are perhaps the most visible producers of plastic waste in airport terminals.

Especially sandwiches, salad bowls, hot food lunch boxes, etc.

Step 4: Retail Packaging

If you purchase liquid goods at a duty-free shop, your items will be nicely placed inside a sealed plastic bag.

Airport shops often provide tamper-evident plastic bags for duty-free purchases—especially liquids—to comply with security regulations and prevent issues during transit or at customs.

Step 5: Boarding Essentials

Many boarding essentials—such as headphones, blankets, and cutlery—are pre-packaged in plastic, making them difficult to avoid.

Cabin waste composition audits conducted in 2013-2014 and in 2018 und that plastic accounted for 17%–20% by weight.

source: packaging-gateway

Environmental Impact

Diving into the Numbers

The world produces around 350 million tonnes of plastic waste each year.

Over 140 million tonnes of bottled drinks were collected at security checkpoints in 2018 at Manchester Airport Group sites.

An estimated 5,000 tonnes of plastic waste were thrown away at UK airport security each year.

Fieldwork at Gatwick Airport

Trapped in Transit: The Plastic You Can’t Refuse

This field study video exposes the hidden plastic epidemic within airports. Passengers navigate a system flooded with mandatory single-use items: security bags, sealed water bottles (due to scarce refill stations), pre-packaged meals with plastic utensils, and endless wrappers. Interviews reveal a stark reality: travelers, aware yet overwhelmed, consistently choose plastic for its sheer convenience in the stressful airport environment. « It’s just easier, » sums up the common sentiment. Airport staff, meanwhile, handle the aftermath formally, diligently sorting waste into recycling streams.

The video powerfully demonstrates the thesis of « Plastic Without Choice »: this waste crisis is structural, not individual. Recycling efforts, while visible, cannot counter the sheer volume generated by systems prioritizing speed, security, and profit. Passengers are caught in a cycle where refusing plastic is often impossible. The solution demands systemic redesign, not just personal responsibility.

Systemic Forces Behind Airport Plastic

Understanding behavior, infrastructure, responsibility, and transformation

Passenger Behavior and plastic use

Trapped in Convenience: Analyzing Passenger Behavior and Plastic Use at Airports

Choices by airport infrastructure

How Airport Infrastructure Shapes Unsustainable Choices

Institutional Responsibility

Beyond the Traveler: Rethinking Institutional Responsibility for Airport Plastic Waste

From Behavior to Structure

A Systemic Transition Approach to Plastic Dependency in Airports

Global Airport Policy Comparison

How different airports around the world are addressing plastic reduction

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)¹

Plastic Reduction Initiatives:

Ban on single-use plastic water bottles; promotion of reusable bottles and refill stations.
Implementation of “Zero Waste Concessions” program using compostable, recyclable, or reusable utensils and containers.
Comprehensive waste sorting and recycling facilities.
Enhanced environmental awareness campaigns for passengers and staff.

Outcomes:

First major airport globally to ban single-use plastic water bottles.
Waste diversion rate reached 61%, significantly reducing plastic waste generation.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport²

Plastic Reduction Initiatives:

Installation of 90 free water bottle refill stations.
Retail outlets stopped selling bottled water starting 2024, preventing approx. 750,000 plastic bottles annually.
Promotion of biodegradable or reusable packaging and utensils..
Driving green transformation across the supply chain.