Airline Extra Baggage: And I am Not Talking About Your Carry On
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is is the trade association for the world’s airlines, it is estimated that cabin waste volumes can double in the next 10 years if there is not better regulations implemented. On average 1 passenger per flight generates 3.15 lbs of trash. To put this in perspective…A Boeing 737 can carry up to 215 passengers, which quickly adds up to 677.25 lbs of trash per flight!
How can you help decrease waste on planes and help implement change?
Bring your own reusable coffee cup. The one I like to carry around that is super light weight and perfect for taking on flights is a Starbucks reusable tumbler (although mine never has Starbucks in it). It’s a lightweight plastic cup for hot beverages so you can use it for when the flight attendant comes around to offer sparkling water, juice or tea and coffee! However, I travel with both my reusable hot tumbler and hydroflask because I love keeping my cold drinks super cold. You can find these tumblers online for a $5-$10. (See my tumbler below).
Bring your own headphones. When you bring your own headphones you 1) avoid waste from the plastic wrap they are packaged in 2) avoid leaving cruddy headphones in the seat pocket. Also, those buds never fit in my ears anyway, so I get much better sound quality wearing my over-the-ears headphones that are much comfier! An important side note: I was even reading some articles that the headphones sometimes are reused from flight to flight- so although I am all about re-use, not so much when it comes to using buds that someone else has in their ears!
Bring your own blanket. Blankets on flights are often wrapped in plastic. Similarly to headphones, some articles suggest that airline attendance have reported that they do not get washed at times from flight to flight. If you have some room, pack a light blanket from home that you might even find handy on your trip. My mom often hassles me to pack a light blanket and towel during my travels – I use to think I didn’t need them, but they have come in handy on many occasions!
True story: Once I moved to Wales and figured I would buy things once I arrived but I arrived late to a bare bed and was saved with the small blanket and towel I brought. Thanks mom!
Bring your own zero waste snacks. Say no to plastic wrapped almonds, cookies, etc. on your flight. Use your own reusable bag (like stasherbag) to pack your own snacks. You get to munch on good snacks you actually enjoy during your travels and you decrease your footprint at the same time. That’s a win-win in my book!
Respond to the survey after your flight and tell them what you think about their waste practices. I just returned from a trip to Costa Rica and I wrote to Delta to let them know how I think they could decrease their carbon footprint, such as by offering wooden stir sticks vs plastic ones and having the flight attendants offer to refill peoples cups rather than coming around with new filled water cups. Remember, you are the consumer and your voice and actions matter! 🙂
Thanks for reading this post. I hope this inspires you to think more about your footprint when traveling. Flying is pretty brutal on the environment in general, so let’s do what we can to decrease our footprint!
Peace and love,
Joanna