Alaska Airlines has made a small change that will help save a lot on plastic
Alaska Airlines bans plastic water bottles
Alaska Airlines will make changes to its inflight drinking water service starting Thursday, November 4, 2021. The airline will no longer use plastic water bottles and instead offer boxed water. Alaska Airlines has partnered with Boxed Water Is Better to offer this service. The water comes in a 92%-plant-based, fully recyclable box-shaped carton and is sealed with an organic cap.
Alaska will replace plastic cups with recyclable paper cups in order to switch from bottled water and boxed water.
Alaska Airlines tried boxed water on Horizon Air-operated and first class flights in early 2021. It was a success. Employees and passengers voted for boxed water at a rate two to one in surveys. This is why the trial is being extended.
Alaska Airlines will begin serving boxed waters
What is the impact of switching from boxed water to bottled water?
Alaska Airlines claims that the inflight service will reduce single-use plastics by an estimated 1.8 Million pounds per year. This is equivalent to the weight of 18 Boeing 737s. According to the report, inflight water service is responsible for most of the onboard plastic waste. This change will eliminate 22 million plastic cups annually and 32 million plastic containers from Alaska flights.
Alaska Airlines committed to zero net carbon emissions by 2040 and the United States' most fuel-efficient airline by 2025 in early 2021.
Here's how Diana Birkett Rakow (VP of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Alaska Airlines) describes this change.
We fly to some the most stunning places in the world as a West Coast-based airline. These habitats are vital for our collective future. We must reduce plastic waste. Boxed Water is proud to be a partner in our most successful plastic-reduction program yet. This continues our journey to reduce inflight waste.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines will soon start offering boxed water in paper cups. This will eliminate plastic water bottles as well as plastic cups. This will reduce the number of plastic water bottles by 32 million and 22 million each year from Alaska Airlines flights. This is a great initiative, and Alaska should be commended for implementing it. We look forward to similar initiatives by other airlines.
What do you think of Alaska Airlines switching to boxed water
