Qantas' addiction to plastic

[frequent]

Just really curious regarding the amount of plastic Qantas International uses. Not a Greenie, as such, but the amount of plastic Qantas uses on it's flights really is strange.

Recently have done international flights on Qantas in Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class and First Class (thanks to a free upgrade ). Everything is wrapped in plastic, or made of plastic.
Economy and Premium Economy kits are tacky plastic zip-bags, Business kits are wrapped in plastic, blankets, pyjamas, Economy snack bags, headphones, meal trays items... everything is plastic or wrapped in it.

My last flight I took a walk around the plane before breakfast, and the aisles were a sea of empty plastic bags.

For an airline who is happy to ask you to pay to 'Fly Carbon Neutral' I find this really odd. Their Economy kits used to be little cloth pouches, kind of like a passport holder. Now just some tacky zip plastic bag just to add to all the plastic. I realise food items need to be wrapped or covered to keep them fresh, but the sheer amount of plastic cough they hand out is astounding.

The odd thing is that the First Class pyjamas and kits dont come wrapped in plastic :?:

I just think QF could focus more on the environment, and do away with some of the plastic they hand out onboard. After all they ask us to pay to fly carbon neutral.
:shock:

 

[elbarto]

I'm pretty sure the old Y kits were a woven plastic. They could seal the J kits with one of those things that holds the price tag on to new clothes like BA does. But everything else gets wrapped for hygiene, so I don't really see a way around it.


Sent from an Apple iPad wireless device

 

[ajw373]

Just really curious regarding the amount of plastic Qantas International uses. Not a Greenie, as such, but the amount of plastic Qantas uses on it's flights really is strange.

Recently have done international flights on Qantas in Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class and First Class (thanks to a free upgrade ). Everything is wrapped in plastic, or made of plastic.
Economy and Premium Economy kits are tacky plastic zip-bags, Business kits are wrapped in plastic, blankets, pyjamas, Economy snack bags, headphones, meal trays items... everything is plastic or wrapped in it.

My last flight I took a walk around the plane before breakfast, and the aisles were a sea of empty plastic bags.

For an airline who is happy to ask you to pay to 'Fly Carbon Neutral' I find this really odd. Their Economy kits used to be little cloth pouches, kind of like a passport holder. Now just some tacky zip plastic bag just to add to all the plastic. I realise food items need to be wrapped or covered to keep them fresh, but the sheer amount of plastic cough they hand out is astounding.

The odd thing is that the First Class pyjamas and kits dont come wrapped in plastic :?:

I just think QF could focus more on the environment, and do away with some of the plastic they hand out onboard. After all they ask us to pay to fly carbon neutral.
:shock:

Interesting whinge. Two questions. Do you think this plastic thing is just a Qantas thing, and secondly what is the alternative?


PS you will find the first class PJ's come in plastic but are removed from the bag prior to being given to the passenger. Elbarto think you will find that BA does the same with their kits, but must admit it has been 18 months since I last did a BA long haul trip.

 

[milehighclub]

The old economy one came in plastic

The new one has a little silver sticker around it to see if it has been opened or not instead of putting it in plastic. The cleaners will not throw it out if they see the seal is still intact.

Same applies for business class. They won't throw out a pack still in plastic.

The plastic is a good way to see if an item has been tampered with or not.

Not tampered - reuse!

 

[mavrick9]

I did always wonder what they did with all the plastic cups, knives, forks etc. Perhaps they recycle them. I would hope so.

Perhaps they are recycled and made into 787's.

 

[munitalP]

Interesting. Let's come up with some ingenious ways to help QF reduce their impact on pollution. A statement I saw the other day on a movie (the lightbulb conspiracy) on a QF flight; create nutrients not garbage... Worthy of a deep and meaningful discussion methinks

1. Wrap blankets in natural paper bags with no printing. Outcome. 100% biodegradable with little impact on the environment in the end user stages. Production of paper nowadays is quite environmentally neutral.


Sent using a fire, green leaves and blanket creating smoke signals.

 

[Deleted member]

Interesting. Let's come up with some ingenious ways to help QF reduce their impact on pollution. A statement I saw the other day on a movie (the lightbulb conspiracy) on a QF flight; create nutrients not garbage... Worthy of a deep and meaningful discussion methinks

1. Wrap blankets in natural paper bags with no printing. Outcome. 100% biodegradable with little impact on the environment in the end user stages. Production of paper nowadays is quite environmentally neutral.


Sent using a fire, green leaves and blanket creating smoke signals.

The wrapping , like a lot of things these days is likely made every cheaply in a third world nation , vacuum packing is popular so you are limited in material here , (paper doesn't respond well to this process, nor does wool)
But I agree, the Japanese do things ( on the ground) that we would find expensive to do , like cloth to wrap gifts in etc.

I wold prefer something less plastic , and I am not yet convinced about the woeful plastic utensils in use in Y, if we have to use plastic, the non bendy stuff is preferable. I also note that plastic utensils tend to disappear once you are away from an Aussie port and steel appears again, And in J to NZ I get steel knives and forks. So It must mean that anyone intent on doing bad wont fly J .....? at leas to NZ !




The more I see of men........... the more I love my dog

 

[Deleted member]

I suppose weight etc has a part in all this


The more I see of men........... the more I love my dog

 

[dfcatch]

I have no problem with plastic if it:

- keeps costs down;
- makes it easy to distinguish between used and new;
- keeps things fresh;
- keeps things hygienic.

Those with a green conscience can pay a premium for an optional "plastic free experience".

For me - I'm not prepared to pay extra for this.

 

[smit0847]

I did always wonder what they did with all the plastic cups, knives, forks etc. Perhaps they recycle them. I would hope so.

Perhaps they are recycled and made into 787's.

I think it would largely depend on the type of package they have with the companies who cleans their planes. I imagine it would be cheaper for everything to be thrown out than have things sorted for recycling. In somewhere like BKK or JNB I doubt recycling is a high priority.

 

[Mal]

In somewhere like BKK or JNB I doubt recycling is a high priority.

Maybe, maybe not. There is a huge industry in 3rd world countries to process rubbish for recyclable items. It wouldn't surprise me if both the two places above send their rubbish somewhere for sorting.

 

[thewinchester]

Well QF's statements on their environmental and waste reduction actions can be found here:

• About Qantas - Environment - Waste
• Sustaining the Spirit - Sustainability at Qantas

And before anyone claims the numbers they are providing are BS: the sustainability reports form part of their annual report, and thus are audited and certified to the same depth and level as the company financials. I doubt very much any Auditor or corporate executive/director worth their salt would allow such data to be published if it wasn't true or actually measured, let alone if it was incorrect (because they'd be liable under the Corporations Act if they did).

The quick summary is that recycling and waste diversion only seems to be happening on east coast domestic routes. They further incorporate sustainable product design and selection into their procurement frameworks. On this point, they state in the 2011 data book:

When assessing the sustainability of a product, the Group considers the full environmental life cycle elements of a product. These include: resource extraction and consumption; manufacturing and production; transport and logistics; product design; use and maintenance; recycling and disposal
options. In addition, the Group considers the social elements of product development and supply including employee rights and conditions, corruption, unfair competition and ethical behaviour.

The enhancement of sustainable procurement practices is a key initiative in the Group Environmental Strategy.

Having said that, since FY06/07 they have managed to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 21% - which is a pretty sizable amount for a company the size of QF Group.

Again from the 2011 data book:

2010/11 saw the Group continue to improve its environmental performance on resource consumption reduction. In November 2010, the Group began diverting its general waste in Sydney to an Advanced Waste Treatment (AWT) facility. This facility enables the improved recycling of metals and plastics as well as organic waste, resulting in almost 100% of general waste disposed in Sydney now being recycled. This equates to almost 400 tonnes per month. The Group has been using a similar facility in Cairns since 2008 and will continue to take advantage of these types of facilities as they become available around the country.

In real terms, QF Group is only sending 190kg to landfill per Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) in FY10/11, of which they had 133 million. That's a pretty good result if you ask me.

That of course leads into smit0847's comments:

I think it would largely depend on the type of package they have with the companies who cleans their planes. I imagine it would be cheaper for everything to be thrown out than have things sorted for recycling. In somewhere like BKK or JNB I doubt recycling is a high priority.

Very true, but as you can see from their statements they are committed to doing this in Australia (their largest market presence) as and when they can. It's not everywhere, but I'd consider achieving this in Australian ports as a sizable start to a zero waste strategy.

Sure, the use of plastics and non-recyclable materials in any operation isn't ideal. However, as we can see QF states on paper that they are committed to sustainable and ethical sourcing practices, and doing as much as feasible to ensure resource recovery, recycling and landfill diversion - much better than most companies out there IMHO.

 

[docjames]

In real terms, QF Group is only sending 190kg to landfill per Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) in FY10/11, of which they had 133 million. That's a pretty good result if you ask me.

T

Apologies if i'm wrong, but for every seat flown 1km, they send 190kg to landfill?

Wow. So if you fly SYD-MEL, rounded to 1000km, QF will send 190,000kg to landfill.

That doesnt sound right to me.

 

[awilcockson]

Apologies if i'm wrong, but for every seat flown 1km, they send 190kg to landfill?

It's 187 grams, not kilograms.

25,149,000 kgs / 133,000,000 seat kilometers.

 

[docjames]

In real terms, QF Group is only sending 190kg to landfill per Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) in FY10/11, of which they had 133 million. That's a pretty good result if you ask me.
.

It's 187 grams, not kilograms.

25,149,000 kgs / 133,000,000 seat kilometers.

You may see why i misunderstood - I presumed that it was a multiplcation error.

 

[dajop]

It's 187 grams, not kilograms.

25,149,000 kgs / 133,000,000 seat kilometers.

Some how I think it's 187 milligrams. 3 0's missing from the seat kilometres - which would be more like 133,000 million ASK's -133 billion. (If I calculate correctly an A380 travelling SYD-LHR has in itself 7 million ASKs - 17000km x 400 passengers)

 

[blackcat20]

I did always wonder what they did with all the plastic cups, knives, forks etc. Perhaps they recycle them. I would hope so.

Perhaps they are recycled and made into 787's.

There was some fuss in the papers not too long ago when it was "discovered" that they wash and re-package the cutlery....its no worse than washing and reusing metal cutlery, and I assume they are thrown out after a few rounds.

 

[horseman]

The wrapping , like a lot of things these days is likely made every cheaply in a third world nation , vacuum packing is popular so you are limited in material here , (paper doesn't respond well to this process,

Theres a chance your correct, however I know that the company that manufactures plastic film used to wrap smokes, candy bars, chips, and most other plastic films, amongs other places, has a very large plant in wodonga, country Victoria, and they make an incredible amount of plastic film in there. I wouldn't surprise me at all if even qantas things made in china is wrapped in wodonga plastic.
I used to maintain a lot of the equipment at this place and the amount of film they produce, and the speed it comes out of the machine at is incredible

 

[Deleted member]

Theres a chance your correct, however I know that the company that manufactures plastic film used to wrap smokes, candy bars, chips, and most other plastic films, amongs other places, has a very large plant in wodonga, country Victoria, and they make an incredible amount of plastic film in there. I wouldn't surprise me at all if even qantas things made in china is wrapped in wodonga plastic.
I used to maintain a lot of the equipment at this place and the amount of film they produce, and the speed it comes out of the machine at is incredible

In that case , every cloud has a silver lining. Nice to see some manufacturing surviving in oz these days


If it doesn't matter if you win or lose.......How come they keep score?

 

[samh004]

I did always wonder what they did with all the plastic cups, knives, forks etc. Perhaps they recycle them. I would hope so.

Perhaps they are recycled and made into 787's.

There was some fuss in the papers not too long ago when it was "discovered" that they wash and re-package the cutlery....its no worse than washing and reusing metal cutlery, and I assume they are thrown out after a few rounds.

Yes, the plastic cutlery was washed and re-used a certain amount of times before being recycled.

Luckily metal cutlery is becoming more popular again though. Does weigh a lot more!