Originally Posted by
orbitmic
I can’t speak about VS but the vast majority of airlines I know’ do not use single use plastic at all but ceramic/china salt and pepper shakers or indeed (much better) mills so I think comparing paper sachets to single use plastic would artificially focus on only two options representing a small minority of the industry practice whilst ignoring the vastly dominant choice.
What is used in J on QR, AF, JL, KE, CX EK, and many more (including far less prestigious airlines such as KQ, ET, UL etc) is not single use but cleaned, refilled from bulk and reused and that certainly is a better choice for the environment than relying on factories that produce single use sachets like ba does.
Possibly but consider the life cycle of these tiny plastic and/or ceramic objects. Mass produced in China were each shaker is moulded, filled and sealed then bulk packed and shipped. Then distributed to airport catering facilities. Recycling involves collection, separation, shipping back to China where the process begins again. It is entirely possible the shakers are cleaned and refilled but we are talking volumes that can only realistically be handled by the specialist factories equipped with the mechanisation that produced them in the first place.
Of course, the shakers and grinders you find in European airlines First Class and QR business are more nuanced - volumes are significantly lower so these devices can be cleaned and refilled locally.