MAG calls for household waste to be used to produce SAF

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the UK’s largest airport operator, has set out how household waste currently burned to generate electricity could instead be used to make Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

A new study by the group has revealed that manufacturing SAF from household waste could help the UK further reduce its carbon footprint. Currently in the UK, 8.5 million tonnes of domestic waste that cannot be recycled or reused is burned to generate electricity, with a further 7.3 million tonnes sent to incinerators without recovering any energy.

The research from ICF, commissioned by MAG, found that the reduction in carbon emissions from using bin bag waste to make SAF would be at least five times greater than that achieved by incinerating the same waste to generate electricity. SAF made from waste emits 89% less carbon than burning conventional jet fuel. This means that using waste to make SAF results in a much bigger reduction in carbon emissions than incinerating it to make electricity; nearly 50% of all UK electricity already comes from renewable sources. 

New refineries across the UK could also create tens of thousands of new green jobs and give airports a direct supply.

Ken O’Toole, CEO of MAG – which runs Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports – said:

“It is proven that SAF has the capability to power the planes of the future and will be instrumental in the decarbonisation of air travel in the coming years.

“The benefits of turning household waste into SAF are clear – it’s better for the environment, reducing emissions by at least five times more than using it to make electricity.  It can also contribute to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs and be a significant driver in helping UK aviation reach its target of net zero by 2050.

“It is vital that we use household waste in the most efficient way we can to help reduce carbon emissions. But the simple fact is, by continuing to incinerate waste to make electricity we’re missing out on an important opportunity to cut the UK’s carbon emissions.

“By using household waste to make SAF, we can scale up our domestic SAF production and ensure that air travel – which delivers so many economic and social benefits – remains affordable and on a path to net zero.”

Defra has confirmed that local authorities are free to choose fuel production over energy-from-waste and incineration but, under the terms of current disposal contracts, the amount of MSW that could be made available to new SAF plants is limited. Industry coalition Sustainable Aviation (SA) has identified that as many as 14 SAF plants could be built across the UK, with the Government committed to having five under construction by 2025.

In 2021, Manchester Airport signed a landmark partnership with Fulcrum BioEnergy UK, which could make it the first UK airport to be directly connected to SAF production, providing up to 10% of the airport’s fuel use.

The publication of the ICF research comes after the first transatlantic flight powered exclusively by SAF took off in November to New York from London. The UK Government has a mandate in place requiring 10% of the fuel used by airlines in the UK to be SAF by 2030.

SA’s most recent decarbonisation roadmap, published in 2023, sets out how aviation will decarbonise by 2050 and demonstrates how SAF will deliver 39% of aviation emissions reduction on the path to net zero. The creation of a thriving SAF industry in the UK is estimated to contribute £11 billion to the economy.