This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
Emirates has taken a significant step towards reducing its environmental footprint by committing to eliminate single-use plastics on board its flights. The airline has already introduced eco-friendly paper straws in June, and all flights will soon be plastic straw-free.
As part of its long-term sustainability initiatives, Emirates has been working to replace plastic swizzle sticks and stirrers with eco-friendly alternatives by the end of the year. Additionally, plastic bags used for Inflight Retail purchases will be replaced with paper bags from August. These initiatives aim to remove an estimated 81.7 million single-use plastic items from landfills every year.
Emirates has been conducting trials on its flights to explore various recycling initiatives on board and has been segregating large plastic bottles to be recycled in Dubai and the rest of the world. The airline's commitment to environmental sustainability is driven by its community in Kenya, where reducing carbon footprint is a top priority.
"Our journey towards environmental sustainability is now more important than ever, and we need to take an active role to make an impact where we can," said Hendrik du Preez, Emirates Regional Manager East Africa. "By eliminating single-use plastic and replacing plastic straws with eco-friendly paper straws on board, we are testament to our commitment in reducing our carbon footprint," he added.
Emirates has been at the forefront of environmental sustainability, introducing ecoTHREAD™ blankets made from recycled plastic bottles in 2017. Each Emirates ecoTHREAD™ blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles, and the airline aims to rescue 88 million plastic bottles from landfills by the end of 2019 – equivalent to the weight of 44 A380 aircraft.
