Qantas is launching an attack on waste, the 30,000 tonnes of waste – equivalent to the weight of 80 747 jumbos – that it deals with each year.
First to go will be paper boarding passes, to be replaced by digital boarding passes as Qantas bids to cut the amount of waste it sent to landfill by 75% by 2021.
Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said Qantas has a responsibility to its customers, shareholders and the community to reduce waste.
He said the company already aimed to have removed more than 100 million single-use plastic items a year from Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink flights and lounges by the end of 2020.
“We’ve already removed plastic wrapping on our pyjamas and headsets, as well as plastic straws. Even plastic Frequent Flyer cards are going digital,” Joyce said.
“It adds up to millions of items a year because of our scale – and there’s a lot more we can do.”
Under the programme – described by Qantas as the most ambitious waste reduction target of any major world airline – the group will replace 45 million plastic cups, 30 million cutlery sets, 21 million coffee cups and four million headrest covers with sustainable alternatives by the end of 2020.