LTN Phobia

Just curious about what BA is doing to reduce single-use plastic usage, since there is a worldwide movement on reducing the use of them?

For instance, if I remember correctly, they use plastic cutlery in WT? Are they re-introducing metal cutlery, or going for sustainable wood ones?

Some of the things that I can think of that I have encountered are plastic-coated paper ring around CE napkins - could they use non-coated paper? (This will make it easier to tear and remove, which would be a double-benefit.)

How about plastic stirrers you get with mixed drinks?

Are non-slip mats on the CE tray re-used?

I'm asking out of curiosity rather than as an activist, although I realised the seriousness of ocean pollution when I saw what looked like a huge 'rubbish dump' of plastic items dozens of miles offshore while sailing, and I'd like to see that resolved because it was horrible to look at, can't be good for the environment, and I was worried that rubbish might get caught on the engine intake and cause problems (had that happen before and since, and a functional engine is much appreciated when there is not enough wind to sail, even for a sailing boat!).

13901

On board not much (yet) is happening, as the focus of recycling (for LHR inbound flights) is cans and glass, but that is set to change in the not-too-distant-future; an initial attempt has been the reduction of the swizzle stick. What's taking a great deal more focus, and success, is the reduction of single-use plastics and coffee cups in the offices. A group of volunteers has achieved, in 2 months, a 50% reduction in cups' used at Waterside, and is also phasing out all single-use plastics from Waterside's canteens and cafés (not Waitrose though), with CRC and Engineering to follow. Getting rid of plastic on the planes, though, will be harder and not just because of lack of alternatives.

All this is my recollection & opinion and not BA's position.

sts603

LTN Phobia

Are they replacing them with simple wooden/plant-origin sticks or getting rid of them altogether, or using reusable ones?

UKtravelbear

good grief . someone asks a question and you jump to that conclusion?? talk about making a gigantic leap of assumption,

Yes it is possible that airlines could replace plastic cutlery with metal but metal weighs more so more fuel is used leading to more emissions. Also washing them uses up water and energy which also adds to emissions.

Are there things all airlines can do to reduce environmental impact yes but it's not as simple as some people make out. Someone suggested that one of my local bars gets some resusable straws which might be ok for home use but certainly not for commercial. On another post on here someone suggested that BA put jars of marmite out instead of individual sachets - there are hygiene issues to consider as well.

bisonrav

Given that I doubt BA are dumping waste in rivers, although they'd be a great symbolic scalp for the activists, it's difficult to see how they would help the planet by reducing plastic use on board. After all, it's lightweight for the functionality it gives, saves cleaning/reprocessing costs, and uses less fuel to transport than heavier alternatives. The big saving would be everyone flying less.

There's a wonderful dailymash on this subject.

ginger50

Oh Joy LTN Phobia, I am always wary of "activists" on their single issues, but as a frequent sea-goer over the last 40 years I too am horrified at the steady and (in my opinion) horrific increase in plastic waste in the oceans.... and on land. Simple initiatives like the final straw make a big difference. I too am horrified by the waste that comes from aircraft, and worst of all is that it seems to get bundled together as general waste. I would be immensely proud of an airline that introduced a policy on reducing waste - in particular plastic waste.

On a controversial note, the "Amenity kits" contain a lot of stuff I never use and goes in my bin. How about a CW "amenity bar" with the eye shades, socks, ear plugs, creams and unctions avalalble for CW pax to take?..... Ouch.... the best part of the amenity kit is the bag..... what would I put my meds, creams, insect repellents, and STUFF in if I didn't have those handy bags?

G50

ukgooner

Lets be honest, the entire flying industry is an environmental disaster - the amount of plastic used and chucked into sacks with all sorts of other waste. Id love to know how its all separated, though I suspect it isn't.

And of course so many people here campaign for full catering (all choices for all passengers); luxury wash bags for all etc etc. Waste is just not considered. "I've got a club ticket and I didn't get my choice blah blah blah; the club kitchen ran out of nuts; the hot towels are too thin).

Its not just a few swizzle sticks we are talking about here. As soon as they start looking at sustainability its branded as cost cutting.

WorldLux

Given that a number of countries require airplane waste to be sent to the refuse incinerator, switching from plastics to recyclable plastics/wood won't make much of a difference.

13901

Basically, and very simply, the swizzles come in very large boxes. Once one is opened, it's thrown away. We've changed the policy so that the swizzles are only loaded ex-LHR (or Gatwick, I suppose), in specific positions for return containers. They are to be stowed there, so they can be used on both ends. Been going on since April, however at present, as I said, the focus is to reduce single-use plastics and coffee cups on the ground, mainly because it's easier!

All this is my own opinion and not BA's.

rockflyertalk

LTN Phobia

I had a very good reason not to do anything about it.
It was about 3 miles long and goodness knows how wide - it was literally a sea of it. When I wrote 'huge', I meant it (I don't do hyperbole).

There is nothing I can do when it is at that scale, except to report the issue (they already knew). Moving it out of harm's way would have been impossible because of the sheer scale of it, and besides moving it would do no good - the current etc. will simply take it elsewhere, so it needs to be removed, not just moved. It would need a fleet of vessels with fine nets working the area systematically to collect them. It appeared to be some kind of a converging point for rubbish from various places, as reported in various parts of the sea/ocean.

Other than the sheer scale of it, hoving-to or keeping it on autopilot and trying to collect things would have been somewhat dicey - I'm talking about short-handed sailing in pretty rough sea at relatively low temperature here and it wouldn't have been too amusing if I fell in (although I guess I could have tried to hold onto some of the debris!). It's not like picking up rubbish from a beach (which I would do).

When safely possible and it's not at a silly scale, I try to fish out any rubbish from the sea and dispose of them properly though. A floating dead cow (elsewhere, not in the huge rubbish dump), however, defeated us... (no, really, this one was hazard to shipping, but being organic it wouldn't have harmed the environment in a serious way).

rockflyertalk

ginger50

Oh gosh.... I have seen acres of waste on the oceans too... even on a large ship it was too much to pick up. The problem with the sea is that too few humans see it so it is "out of sight and out of mind". Take a look at this as a typical example... and this is not tho only organisation reporting on this problem.

LTN Phobia

I do wonder if some of the sea rubbish I saw actually came from landfill sites rather than just the beach, because it was just extraordinary. I never thought I'd come across that in the Med, but I have since seen slightly smaller rubbish patches elsewhere in the Med too (near countries with known rubbish disposal issues).

Here is a Pacific example, which is much, much bigger than what I saw in the Med:

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/grea...garbage-patch/
This one is apparently 1.6 million square km!
The one I saw would probably have been about 30 square km at most.