Emirates Airlines taking strides to replace plastics with eco-friendly products

Emirates Airlines has made a network-wide commitment to reduce single-use plastics on board its aircraft.

In June, eco-friendly paper straws were used on board of all Emirates planes in lieu of plastic straw. As of August, plastic bags used for inflight retail purchases will also be replaced with paper bags.

The airline will also replace plastic swizzle sticks and stirrers with eco-friendly alternatives by the end of the year.

These initiatives will remove an estimated 81.7 million single-use plastic items from landfill each year.

Various recycling initiatives were examined on board of Emirates flights, with staff and cabin crew giving feedback on other eco-friendly ideas.

As part of the company’s long-term vision and proposals by cabin crew members, the airline has been segregating large plastic bottles on board to be recycled in Dubai and the rest of the world. This diverts an estimated 3 tons or about 150,000 plastic bottles from landfill in Dubai every month.

The company has conducted a full review of the plastics on board and will gradually implement other initiatives to tackle plastic waste within the coming few months.

The initiatives are part of the airline’s ongoing sustainability efforts. In 2017, Emirates introduced ecoTHREAD™ blankets made from recycled plastic bottles for its Economy Class cabin. Each blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles and by the end of this year, Emirates would have saved 88 million plastic bottles from landfill.