Qantas reveals the huge amount of rubbish it saved on the world’s first ‘zero-waste’ flight
- Qantas flew world’s first ‘zero-waste’ flight from Sydney to Adelaide last month
- Airline posted a snap of the waste from the flight compared to a normal amount
- Qantas is aiming to eliminate 75 per cent of its current waste by the end of 2021
Qantas has revealed how much rubbish it saved when it operated the world’s first ‘zero waste’ flight from Sydney to Adelaide. The big white bags in the background contain the waste normally left behind. The small bag in the foreground is everything left behind on the zero waste flight that couldn’t otherwise be recycled or composted
Qantas has revealed how much rubbish it saved when it operated the world’s first ‘zero waste’ flight.
Last month, the airline flew passengers from Sydney to Adelaide on a service that substituted single-use plastic items with more sustainable alternatives that could be recycled, re-used or composted.
Now the Australian carrier has posted a picture on its Facebook page showing the normal amount of rubbish going to landfill from a Sydney to Adelaide flight compared to the tiny amount from the ‘zero waste’ service on the same route.
The post attracted hundreds of comments with people praising the airline for its waste-cutting efforts.
Ong Lay Imm wrote: ‘Thank you for showing the world that minimal waste is possible! It’s a great effort and initiative!’
Linda Trent said: ‘Congratulations, Qantas. I remember a conversation I had with a business class attendant in August last year regarding the general public and Qantas flight crews all calling for less landfill waste coming out of a flight. I’m so happy to see this is coming into reality so soon after that.’
While Cheryl Kirgan added: ‘Great initiative, Qantas! I have always hated seeing all the waste when on flights. Thank you for making a difference and keep up the good work!’
In the post, Qantas explained that the tiny amount of rubbish from the waste-free flight that couldn’t be recycled or composted was being sent to be re-used as a substitute to fossil fuel to power cement kilns.
The airline added: ‘Not every flight can be zero waste in the future due to current quarantine laws and the availability of practical, sustainable alternatives.
Some of the sustainable cups and food containers handed out on the flight, which Qantas says was the world’s first ‘zero waste’ service
All used in-flight products on the two-hour flight from Sydney to Adelaide were separated so they could be composted, reused or recycled
‘But we are proud to be cutting 75 per cent of our waste to landfill by the end of 2021 and eliminating 100 million single-use plastics every year by the end of 2020.’
On the waste free flight last month, about 1,000 single-use plastic items were scrapped in favour of sustainable alternatives or, in the case of individual Vegemite servings, removed altogether.
The food containers were made from sugar cane pulp left over from refineries, while the compostable coffee cups were made with plastic made from plant matter rather than oil.