Towards an Improvement of Airport Retail Waste Management Using the Double Diamond Design Process

This paper describes a research project to improve airport retail waste management, particularly in terms of waste segregation and effective processing according to current waste management practices. The Double Diamond design process was employed as the research methodology to identify and challenge these practices. On-site observations were conducted to begin the project by collecting data on the most recent airport waste management procedures and this was the demonstration of the Discover and problem identification phase of the Double Diamond methodology. Airports may apply this in the Develop and Delivery phases to boost recovery rates and handle waste more effectively and economically, lowering the waste transported to landfills or for incineration, and achieving their net-zero goals. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on global waste management methods, especially in the aviation sector where little academic discourse exists on this issue. Practitioners can benefit from the Double Diamond’s design structure to provide guidance for implementing and assessing airport waste management practices.