As a business we are always looking at ways to reduce the amount of waste that we produce and the most effective way of recycling the waste we do produce. The 3 R's - reduce, reuse, recycle, are all important to us. A number of recycling initiatives have been launched, both on our flights and in our offices and aircraft hangers on the ground, through which more than 55% of our waste is now being recycled or reclaimed.
We have, for the past few years, operated paper recycling onboard our flights, however following feedback from our customers, 84% of whom stated that they do not think airlines do enough to recycle onboard waste, we trialled a full recycling programme on our flights. The trial proved to be hugely successful and in October 2007 Monarch was the first UK airline to launch a full onboard recycling programme which means that all aluminium, plastic, glass and paper used during flights is recycled after landing. Initially launching on flights operating into Gatwick, the initiative was rolled out in January 2008 to include flights operating into Birmingham and we continue to work closely with our other UK and European airports to ensure the necessary recycling infrastructure is introduced to enable us to roll the scheme out to include all Monarch bases.
The products that we use onboard have also been refined and have resulted in the paper our inflight magazine is printed on being switched to paper that comes from trees grown in sustainable forests plus the forthcoming introduction of carrier bags made from 75% recycled material.
Our drive to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste also includes our offices and aircraft maintenance facilities and since introducing a paper recycling collection service in 2005, we have recycled almost 70 tonnes of paper. In addition, all our offices and hangers are fitted with recycling bins and facilities which enable the recycling of materials including metals, wood, plastic, cardboard, oils and batteries and in the first 9 months of 2007 over 55% of all our waste being recycled or reclaimed.
