OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2015. The Airbus’ supported university project for the development of a mobile vacuum trash compactor has been awarded with a Cabin Crystal Awards in the Category University. The innovative concept provides significant weight reduction, better space utilisation and less system complexity by using the on-board vacuum toilet system or waste water system as pressure source for a compaction mechanism.

Today’s trash compactor technologies are based on electromechanical compactors which are heavy (80 kg – 113 kg) and voluminous, as the compaction mechanism takes almost two third of the available space of a unit. Their capacity ranges from 35 - 70 litres.

The new concept, developed with the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, makes use of the aircraft’s on-board vacuum system which is already present as part of the water & waste system. The result is a 24kg lightweight device which looks like a cabin service trolley. It has a capacity of up to 150 litres and can be easily handled by the cabin crew. The concept was implemented into a physical demonstrator and was successfully tested under real operational conditions.

The Crystal Cabin Award is the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation, donated by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on the occasion of the world’s largest cabin interior exhibition, the Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer offering a complete range of aircraft families, from 100 to well over 500 passenger seats, as well as the most modern, comprehensive and fuel-efficient product line on the market.