Published on : Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The list of plastic on the chopping block, announced in a press release July 8, is pretty long. It includes everything from plastic cups to water bottles, sauce packets to cheese trays. Every one of those pieces has a carbon footprint equal to around 3 ounces of carbon dioxide, so by eliminating them from the flights, Air New Zealand cuts out 10.3 million pounds of CO2 this year alone.
And passengers need not fret. You won’t have to go without water once you board. In fact, you’ll still be able to get all the items. They’ll just look a bit different. For example, plastic sauce packets aren’t just being removed. They’re being replaced. By this fall, passengers will get mustard and mayo in reusable dishes instead of the regular throwaway packets. That alone, the airline estimates, will eliminate around 200,000 pieces of plastic each year.
The majority of the 55 million items, however, come in the form of 29 million cups. Passengers on international flights will still be able to get a cup of coffee when they want, but as of this fall, those cups will be made from plants. It’s a change the airline started earlier this year on domestic flights, swapping out 14.7 million for the plant-based version. The same goes for plastic water cups, which will be exchanged for a recyclable alternative.
According to Air New Zealand’s Acting Head of Sustainability Anna Palairet, is to help the environment by cutting down on the airline’s carbon footprint. As of 2018, the company generated 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, making it one of New Zealand’s largest polluters.
Single-use plastic is a highly topical and visible issue for us and our customers, so they are really pleased to be able to share this progress.
Now, with this idea, the plastic stays out of landfills and the carbon stays out of the skies, helping them take a step toward a cleaner future.
Tags: 29 million, Air New Zealand