MAG signs up to waste reduction initiative

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the UK’s largest airport operator, has signed up to a new Circularity in Practice initiative aimed at tackling waste.

The scheme was launched during a visit by His Majesty King Charles III to Manchester in March, and encourages businesses to collaborate to reduce waste and promote re-use, driving economic growth as a result.

MAG’s pledge to support the waste reduction initiative builds on its long-standing commitment to creating a sustainable future for all, set out in its five-year Sustainability Strategy.

The Group owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports alongside digital travel services business, CAVU. As a signatory, MAG will work with partners to identify opportunities to make greater use of circularity across its supply chain – extending the life cycle of products and materials from its airport, and integrating reuse practices in its procurement, construction and operational processes.

Joining the new initiative is the latest in MAG’s commitment to reuse – building on more than two decades of progress. The Group already delivers circularity initiatives – with any child buggies in left luggage at Manchester and London Stansted donated to baby banks and charities across local communities. The scheme ensures luggage does not end in landfill and gives back to local communities.

In 2024/25, 100% of MAG’s waste was diverted from landfill, and last year the Group set a number of new targets in its latest Sustainability Strategy: Creating a sustainable future for all including a commitment to reuse or recycle 80% of airport waste by 2030.

Ken O’Toole, MAG CEO said:

“By signing the Circularity in Practice pledge, we are reinforcing MAG’s commitment to putting sustainability at the core of how we operate. With airports spanning the North, Midlands and South, our supply chains and interactions with organisations and communities are vast – and we should continue to leverage reuse at every opportunity and reap the environmental, societal and economic benefits.

 “I am proud that MAG is a signatory of the Circularity in Practice initiative – and I look forward to working with partners to reduce waste, maximise reuse and help drive the transition to a more circular economy in the UK. I also take pride in the circular initiatives MAG has already been delivering over recent years, forming part of our ambitious and credible commitments to creating a sustainable future for all.”