Natalia Kucirkova

On an average long-haul flight cabin crew distribute soft drinks three to four times in plastic cups to the customers. This means that at the end of an eight-hour flight, each customer ends up with 3-4 plastic cups in addition to the plastic waste generated through meals and snacks served on board.

A simple and free way of avoiding this extra plastic waste is to serve additional drinks in the same cup-refill rather than replace. This simple change in practice wouldn’t cost the airline anything, indeed it would save them money. If each customer agrees to have their cup refilled rather than replaced, then on an average flight it would mean a saving of cca 900 plastic cups.

When I asked the cabin crew on my recent Cathay Pacific flight from Auckland to Hong Kong why not to reuse the same cup I was told that ‘they have always done it this way’. Given that the world plastic waste is at record high, why not try doing it the other way?

scnzzz

First of all, welcome to FT.

Not an expert by any means, but I'd guess hygiene, and of course space. There's not always room for a passenger to store their cup (that seatback pocket is usually filthy) - and it's not like people are drinking continuously.

Plus there's the idea that people change what they're drinking. If I'm having a glass of wine with my meal (or whatever), I don't really want that mixing with the coffee I had after takeoff. Planes don't really have dishwashing facilities on board...

r m a h

you could always finish the coffee...and the wine would be fine.

Finalcall

Agree with OP. I think plastic waste is a serious issue but with some effort the impact could be lessened. CX's flight attendants don't seem to have training in environmental conservation at all. I had a strange interaction on a recent flight from HKG to MEL. I was sitting in PE. During meal service I asked the attendant to fill my cold beverage in my tea cup. Her attitude was a mixture of sneering and disbelief - why would I want to use the tea cup? I explained it was to save plastic, since I wasn't planning to have tea or coffee later. She actually shook her head and mumbled something, then handed me my drink in a new plastic cup. Unbelievable.

On other flights, there were times when I was given my cold beverage in two stacked plastic cups. I understand this practice for hot drinks like tea or coffee, when you're given stacked paper cups to make it easier to hold and less likely to leak, but using stacked plastic cups for cold sodas? I assume this is just laziness. Double the waste.

NewbieRunner

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Natakia Kucirkova!

I am improving the thread to TravelBuzz.

NewbieRunner, Senior Moderator

cynicAAl

any used cup has probably been in contact with the passenger's mouth. If it's refilled, it's probably handed to the FA, who grabs it and touches the rim. Then they probably touch other cups (new or used) with the same hand and the spread of germs and viruses begins. I know new cups aren't sterile, and I'm far from a germaphobe, but I think a little plastic waste (which is ultimately recycled) is a small price to pay for preventing the spread of herpes or whatever.

Kevin AA

One plastic six-pack ring tossed in the ocean is more important than how many allegedly unnecessary extra plastic cups are used on airplanes.

erik123

Most carriers use small trays and FAs don't touch the cup.

Plastic (and other trash) can be recycled if separated. Many countries do so very successfully and I am fairly certain carriers like LH recycle the bulk of trash when disposing of it at a home airport.

WorldLux

Plastics can be recycled. There's no point in changing the cup customers get if you don't recycle it afterwards. They could be distributing paper cups or glasses, but if those don't get recycled down the chain the environmental damage will be equally bad.

In the grand scheme, the waste of plastic cups on flights is still nowhere near the environmental damage commercial flights do. The are other industries that are much worse than that. Look at how much vegetables and fruits are grown, packaged and transported to shops only to end their journey on a dump.

Flying is something I consider mostly unavoidable. I don't fly just for the sake of flying or collecting miles. And without wanting to start a debate about the environmental impact of air travel, I'd like to point out that you as a passenger can compensate a lot while on the ground: Walk short distances, rather than drive (both your engine and the environment will thank you if you walk very short distances), sort your waste (Sorting out glass, paper, recyclable metals and plastics), etc.

emma69

FAs have been quite happy to refill my plastic cup when I have asked for a refill of diet coke, etc.

However, in Y, in long haul, where do you keep the same cup for all that time? I don't want my tray table down any longer than it needs to be, and few airlines have well positioned cup holders in Y. Also agree with the poster who pointed out different drinks - if I have an orange juice with my breakfast, I don't want to reuse the same cup for red wine with my lunch.

will2288

I'd rather not have some residual coffee in my wine. Or hold onto a cup for the whole flight.

I'd say the 45,000 gallons of fuel used for the flight is a bigger concern.

StartinSanDiego

Which airlines recycle?

invisible

I think question is incorrectly asked because airlines won't do it. Rather than the agency which is responsible to collect and process the trash after flights should do it.

But as already pointed, plastic trash comparing to pollution/CO2 the plane generates during even 10 min of the flight would be miniscule.

formeraa

I believe that the 3 major US carriers (AA, DL, and UA) all recycle the plastic cups. Reusing plastic cups may be against health regulations or just generally unsanitary.

That said, I believe AS refills cups in coach (or at least used to) on their second beverage service. The FA's wear gloves during the second service and make sure that the can/bottle/beverage container does not make contact with the cup. But there is still potential for contamination.

scnzzz

(my underline)

Particularly cross-contamination, as the same gloves, while protecting the FAs to a degree, will still touch cups used by different passengers. While the odds of a problem are not high, the potential fallout, should one occur, is. From a risk management perspective the incremental environmental load does not seem worth it, particularly if the cups can be recycled.

Different jurisdictions will have varying health regulations and environmental consciousness; it's a tradeoff in the long term. And for a carrier like CX (going back to the OP), operating worldwide, adopting a standard practice across the network is quite normal.