Air New Zealand commits to removal of single-use plastics

To mark Plastic Free July, Air New Zealand has announced it has more than doubled the number of single-use plastic items it plans to remove from operations this year.

Almost 55mn items will be removed, up from 24mn. Individual plastic water bottles have been removed from its Business Premier and Premium Economy cabins, as well as Works Deluxe on flights under five hours.

In its 8 July press release, the company said that such measures would remove 460,000 bottles from landfill annually, as well as reduce carbon emissions by 300,000 kg per year owing to the associated reduction in weight on its aircraft.

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"Single-use plastic is a highly topical and visible issue for us and our customers, so we're really pleased to be able to share this progress to celebrate Plastic Free July,” said Air New Zealand's Acting Head of Sustainability Anna Palairet. “The lack of composting infrastructure available in New Zealand is a challenge so we have been focused on reducing the amount of single-use plastic products we purchase in the first place. It's great to see more and more customers are bringing their reusable drink bottles and keep cups on board, and we encourage people to do this - our cabin crew team is happy to fill these."

Further measures taken by Air New Zealand include the removal of individual plastic sauce packets, and the introduction of recyclable water cups and plant based coffee cups in September and October respectively.