Zero-waste flight by Qantas

The world's first zero-waste flight, a Sydney – Adelaide service, has been operated by Qantas as part of its mission to eliminate single-use plastic by the end of next year and cut its overall waste by 75% by the end of 2021.

All waste on the flight was disposed of by composting, reusing or recycling. Domestic CEO Andrew David said: “Carrying 50m-plus people a year, Qantas and Jetstar currently produce an amount of waste equivalent to 80 fully-laden Boeing B747s.

"We want to give customers the same level of service, but without the amount of waste that comes with it. This flight was about testing our products, refining the waste process and getting feedback from our customers.

Compostable products used on the flight included meal containers made from sugar cane and cutlery made from crop starch. Qantas and Jetstar plan to replace 45m plastic cups, 30m cutlery sets, 21m coffee cups and 4m headrest covers with sustainable alternatives.

Qantas last year operated the first biofuel flight between Australia and the US using a biofuel mix processed from mustard seeds, while Etihad last month operated an Abu Dhabi – Brisbane flight free of single-use plastic, a first in the Middle East.

www.qantas.com

www.jetstar.com

www.etihad.com

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