Air New Zealand is taking plastic reduction on its aircraft seriously by committing to the removal of a further 14 single-use plastic products over the next year.
Speaking at the Sustainability Breakfast in Wellington, the carrier said it will replace five single-use plastic products from its domestic services (including water cups, cafe cups and lids as well as Koru Hour cheese plates and lids) and nine types of plastic bags network-wide.
The decision will help the airline reduce its plastic use by more than 24 million single-use plastic items every year.
While Air New Zealand looks for lower impact alternatives for the single-use products, it has already started following through with previously announced plans to remove 3,000 plastic straws, 7.1 million stir sticks, 260,000 eye mask wrappers and 260,000 plastic toothbrushes from lounges and aircraft over a 12-month period.
Head of Sustainability Lisa Daniell said employees and customers have been a “real catalyst” for the airline’s environmentally friendly approach, as have suppliers who are helping find “new ways” to replace single-use plastic.
Image: Air New Zealand/Facebook
“If we were to line up all of the plastic stirrers we are replacing across our network, they would span the length of Cape Reinga to Taupo (around 700km).”
Lisa Daniell, Air New Zealand Head of Sustainability
“We know these are small steps but given our scale, they do result in a significant amount of single-use plastic being avoided.”
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