Wasting Away on China’s Airlines
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:08
While traveling to Chengdu airlines last week on Shanghai Airline, I was inspired.
Inspired to vent.
It was an inspiration rooted in the fact that the meal was a box of vacuum packed junk (note, the picture above is not mine). A roll, some dried cherries, peanuts, and something else that I could not make out when peeking at my neighbors collection.
Just another reminder that China’s problem with waste is not a land based phenomenon, it really highlighted the fact that a change was needed. That the current system of literally boxing up prepackaged items was a horrible one as:
- Prepackaged food is horrible (sorry, that just has to be said)
- The box is simply unnecessary trash that has no use but to facilitate laziness
- Unopened prepackage food waste levels are high, which ranks up there with all those wasted ketchup packets at McDonald’s
- Non of the “food” was organic in nature, nor in biodegradable vessels
All issues that could be alleviated/ avoided were any of the follows steps taken:
1)Buy on Board (B.O.B.)
Implement a Buy on Board (B.O.B.) program that would change the current giveaway program to a purchase system. It is a program that initially irked travelers in the US, however with the B.O.B. offering better food options/ quality at a reasonable prices, the grumbles were quashed and no airlines are reducing large amounts of waste…. while saving large amounts of money.
Win-Win
2) Grab and Go.
Grab and go meals, are programs that require passengers to make a minimal amount by grabbing a meal bag between the ticket counter and the gate. In the US, this was further complicate by the fact that I would have to actually pick up a sack and the piece of fruit separately, a step that I now see as very sustainable.
those meals saved are then simply rolled down to the next gate where they can be used. Another way to further reduce waste, and save money.
3) serve single servings .. separately
for those firms who just can’t break away from the individually wrapped ~ over preserved vacuum packed stuff, at least reduce waste by walking down the aisle and offering them on an individual basis.
Reducing waste, and potentially reducing the need for a trolley, passengers would naturally avoid some items, while choosing others, and thus provide airlines with better intelligence on their offerings… another option for reducing ongoing waste
4) Removing condiments from standard meals.
In China, I find it interesting that salt and pepper are often included in the plastic fork, knife, spoon set it isn’t really useful with Chinese food.
It is a clear example of an item that could simply offered on an as needed basis, and that by doing so, airlines around the world would save a large amount of waste from entering the system.
5) Fruit over chips
Perhaps a little more progressive, here is another item that would reduce airline waste.. or at least ensure the waste would be more friendly to the environment should it enter a landfill.
6) Recycling
Perhaps best done through regulation and supervision, the recycling of cans, bottles, and boxes is a no brainer for me. With every plane holding multiple carts that could be employed to manage this, it is simply a matter of training to get the on board staff to do a simple first sort of stacking cups or bagging cans/ bottles
Ruggero Da Ros says:
September 29th, 2009 at 6:15 am
I would kindly ask you to publish the article below
to highlight the big problem of food waste, easily avoidable.
Thanks – Ruggero Da Ros — Vittorio Veneto, Italy
Also on:
http://www.africa-news.eu/news/commentary/wasting-food-and-plastics-on-airlines.html
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WASTING FOOD AND PLASTICS ON AIRLINES
Vacations are over. Many of us have been travelling by air to distant places. Have you ever noticed how much food is wasted? On the flights that are not low cost and that last more than an hour, a meal and a snack are served on trays in various plastic containers wrapped with plastic film. Nearly nobody refuses them. Some might not be hungry or have no intention to eat them, nonetheless they accept them hoping to find something to their taste or because it is included in the ticket fare. A lot of people open the wrapping, smell the food or taste just a little bit of it, others eat something, only a few of them eat everything. On long distance flights almost two complete meals are served, one just after taking off and the other before landing.
Is all this food really necessary? In the low cost flights the food is paid apart from the travel fare and few people buy it, yet these companies are successful. We might then wonder why the other airline companies don’t give the opportunity to choose between a fare with meals and one without, and with a lower price? Doing so the exaggerated use of plastic containers and wrapping would be reduced, the cost of the airline tickets would also be reduced and, above all, the waste of enormous quantities of food would thus be avoided.
Let’s consider two calculations. On an intercontinental flight with 300 people 600 meals are served and, if they were to be paid, one can consider that at least 400 meals and 80 kg of plastic would be saved. In Europe only, around 800 million passengers fly every year; supposing that only one meal every 10 travellers could be saved, it would sum up to the enormous figure of 80 million wasted meals. This would be enough to feed over 200.000 inhabitants of the poorer countries for a year and this figure would become millions if we extended this calculation to the whole world.
Considering that the aeroplane remains the most polluting transport means, indeed a trip between Europe and America of two people contributes, as far as gas and electricity consumption is concerned, to the same consumption as an average family in one whole year, thus let’s avoid wasting if we really cannot avoid flying..
25 September 2009
Ruggero Da Ros
Vittorio Veneto – Italy
ruggerodr@libero.it
tel. +39 333 2358441