Sustainability is a big thing right now and everyone can do little things to help the environment. While corporations are taking the lead, there are things you can do as an airline passenger that will reduce waste.
There are obvious things such as getting your boarding pass on your mobile. That stops you having to print it off, which is a saving right there. Of course, there are other ways to be environmentally friendly too.
Reduce Waste By…
Recently I was flying and it struck me that there are items on a meal tray that I rarely use. For example, there is always salt and pepper provided and I usually never add salt to my food. With pepper, I will use it depending on what I’m eating.
There’s also often milk provided, the dreaded UHT in a little container most commonly pops up. When I drink tea on a flight, it’s usually green tea. Therefore I don’t need to suckle at the cows teat, making the provision of moo juice redundant. Ditto sugar.
When that thought crossed my mind, I decided to take the salt, pepper and creamer too. It all would have gone into the bin, and I will use the pepper and sugar at least, and who knows when I might want to play a horrible trick on a house guest and give them creamer? Could come in handy!
Overall Thoughts
Everyone needs to reduce waste. The amount of crap I have given back unused on airline trays is a fair amount. Half of a butter is common, the aforementioned sugar, salt and milk are the next most common. That being said, I make a point of only ordering what I know I will finish.
Nothing annoys me more than seeing someone take a full tray, eat a sliver of lettuce and give the rest back to the crew. Not taking the meal means airlines will adjust their catering levels in due course, saving food waste. We are lucky enough to have as much food as we want in the western world, so we should not abuse that privilege.
What do you think about food waste on airlines? Have you any tips to reduce waste when flying? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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This is true not only when flying. In a daily life we also should be conscious about environmental pollution.
Completely agree! Thanks for the comment.
Great article! Very useful!
Thank you, Jack!