Emirates commits to reducing single-use plastic
Emirates has made a network-wide commitment to reduce single-use plastics on board its aircraft. All plastic straws, plastic swizzle sticks and stirrers will be replaced with eco-friendly alternatives by the end of the year. From August, plastic bags used for inflight retail purchases will also be replaced with paper bags. These initiatives will remove an estimated 81.7 million single-use plastic items from landfill each year.
As part of its long-term vision and fuelled by a cabin crew member’s suggestion, the airline has been segregating large plastic bottles on board to be recycled in Dubai and the rest of the world. This diverts an estimated three tonnes or about 150,000 plastic bottles from landfill in Dubai each month.
A full review of the plastics on board has been conducted and over the next few months, the airline will gradually implement other initiatives to tackle plastic waste.
In 2017, Emirates introduced ecoThread blankets made from recycled plastic bottles for its Economy Class cabin. Each blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles and by the end of this year, Emirates would have saved 88 million plastic bottles from landfill from this initiative alone.
More on Emirates environmental efforts here.
