London City Airport launches sustainable security bag challenge

Courtesy London City Airport

Like all UK consumers, the airport’s passengers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of single-use plastic. Annually, the UK throws away 3.7 million tonnes of plastic, with just 32% being recycled.

Last year, almost 150 million passengers departed from UK airports, each of them required to put their liquids, gels and pastes, of 100ml or less, into a plastic bag for security screening. That means that at London City Airport alone, more than two million single-use plastic bags are used by its passengers every year. New security CT scanners will allow liquids to stay in passengers’ bags but until this technology is more widely used at airports, non-recyclable plastic bags will remain the norm.

The winner of the Sustainable Security Bag Challenge will earn a prize of £10,000, trial their product at the airport and, if successful, earn a commercial contract to supply it for London City Airport’s passengers.

Alison FitzGerald, Chief Operating Officer for London City Airport, said: “As part of our aim to become the most sustainable airport in the UK, we want to find an innovative product that provides an alternative to the plastic bags, used often just once, found at airport security across the globe.

“So now London City Airport has posed the challenge to innovators across London and beyond, to show us what you have or what might be possibl and help develop a usable product that could become the industry standard.”

London City Airport continues to reduce waste in other areas of the business, including the conversion of all its coffee waste to biofuel, with bio-bean, turning four tonnes of coffee waste into a sustainable fuel source last year. To reduce the amount of plastic waste across the airport, London City Airport was also the first UK airport to ban single-use plastic straws. Now the airport is seeking a robust sustainable solution for plastic security bags for passengers.

The airport is also seeking views from its passengers on their appetite to use these alternative products. Trials will take place early next year with the winning design.

The requirements
The competition opens on 21st October and will end on 16th December 2019 (a duration of eight weeks).

Declarations of interest are welcomed before the deadline so that during this period, London City Airport can host a roundtable with interested parties to discuss regulatory requirements and specifications.

The airport is looking for a sustainable solution for the sealable plastic security bag which satisfies the demands from our passengers, is economically competitive and adheres to the requirements set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It must:
• Be a fully sustainable product (recyclable or compostable)
• Reduce waste
• Reduce carbon impact in production and disposal
• Be ethically sourced

The regulations from the CAA are:
• Containers must hold no more than 100ml
• Containers must be in a single, transparent, resealable plastic bag which holds no more than a litre and measures approximately 20cm x 20cm
• The bag must not be knotted or tied at the top
• The requirements can be found on the government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions

The prize
The winner of the ‘Sustainable Security Bag Challenge’ will receive a prize of £10,000 and will have the opportunity to trial the solution at the airport, with its backing.

The process
The airport’s ‘Sustainable Security Bag Challenge’ will be open for an eight-week period. The applications will be reviewed by an expert panel consisting of representatives from security and sustainability teams. The shortlist will be presented to the Sustainability Steering Group. The successful applicant will be given the opportunity to trial their product and undertake a consultation with passengers to investigate the viability of their proposed solution and attitudes towards it.


To express your interes, email: environment@londoncityairport.com