In a move that may be a blend of cost-cutting and environmental stewardship, Alaska Airlines is trialing the use of reusable plastic cups in economy class.
Alaska Airlines Considering Reusable Plastic Cups In Economy Class In New Trial
To celebrate National Reuse Day, on Sunday, October 20, 2024, a trial took place on a flight from Seattle (SEA) to Minneapolis (MSP). In partnership with r.World, reusable plastic cups were used for the beverage service in economy class. As Alaska explains:
Designed to be durable and fully reusable, r.Cups are a huge hit among concertgoers and sports fans, and we hope they’ll soon find a place in the hearts of travelers too! These cups reduce waste because they’re designed to be reused instead of tossed aside – helping to eliminate single-use waste. After use, the cups are collected, cleaned and sanitized and made ready for their next journey.
Alaska has already taken steps to avoid plastic waste, including transitioning from disposable plastic cups to paper cups in 2023 (Alaska boasts it saves 55 million plastic cups from landfills each year) and also from plastic water bottles to boxed water in 2021, which is made with 92% plant-based cartons.
Thus far, this is just a test as the cost and energy required to wash and store these reusable cups also has environmental costs. Ryan Spies, Alaska Airlines’ Managing Director of Sustainability, explained:
“This feasibility study will help us better understand additional ways we can cut onboard waste. While we are only running a limited test at this point, we hope to gain valuable lessons and learnings that we can bring forward.”
I appreciate this pragmatic approach and do think reusable plastic can work, as long as it does not degrade quickly. For example, the reusable plastic coffee cups on Lufthansa are quite an upgrade over paper or disposable plastic:
Does anyone remember the old Aloha Airlines? Until its last few years of operation, it used to serve meals on ceramic dishes and drinks in glasses, even in economy class. That brings weight (therefore increased fuel burn), pilferage, and cleaning concerns as well, but I like that…it’s what Porter does today and one of the things that makes flying Porter such a pleasure.
The only thing I ask: please no bamboo cutlery. We’ve seen more and more of this and I know it is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but it just brings back painful memories of tonsil exams and is overall a diguesting way to eat…
Boo!
@Chi … +1 . Boo .
Agree! This makes me so angry! I’m going to go roll some coal and whack off to some trans porn like any red blooded american! Who’s with me!?
Blow me
Why don’t they just install a water fountain on the plane so people can drink from there? Seriously, now the FAs have to separate these cups and someone has to take them to a place for washing and storage. And how do we know they were washed correctly and are sterilized?
And on that note, why not install filters on the water onboard…just like at gyms? Would make “potable” water issue less of an issue.
The same way you assume the plates and cutlery have been washed and sterilized?
But as you repeatedly remind us, you never eat and drink when flying, so…
Hey moron! I talked in general not about me. Ask your mom if you can go outside. It is nice weather and you won’t get a cold.
Ah, resorting to mom jokes…the refuge of the witless.
STFU Aaron
Make me.
STFU MAGA loving bitch boy
Still projecting your kinky fantasies on to me, I see. You poor closeted man.
For the 1000th time, I’m gay you moronic Saigon butt slut.
For the 1000th time, nobody on here believes you.
Sorry but I prefer a clear cup. It makes water attractive. Any reusable cup needs to be sanitized at a high temperature that will leach microplastics and possibly estrogen disruptive chemicals.
@Maryland … +1 . I also prefer cups to not be handled by the rim .
“In a move that may be a blend of cost-cutting and environmental stewardship”
May?
“May” because doubtful .
I’m not sure if it is environmental stewardship at all.
Definitely some cost cutting in there.
Seems like a good enough idea in coach but would cheapen first class a lot.
For sure.
Slow news day in travel, eh? lol
I thought it was newsworthy!
Just use a common cup that everyone drinks from. They did that in the socialist paradise of the USSR where vending machines had a cup that dispensed soft drinks. First a little squirt of water for you to rinse the cup then the beverage came out. They were so environmentally friendly that they didn’t use aluminum cans like they do in America,
Sorry , but how does a “cup dispense soft drinks” ?
This is foolish for one reason: the process to clean and disinfect the used plastic cups most likely is worse for the environment than making new cups and properly putting all used cups in the same bag to be recycled or disposed of safely. They need to use water, a detergent or alcohol, and some uv or other process. It creates more waste, more chemicals, and more steps that can go wrong. Regular ceramic cups can be cleaned easier as it can handle the heat while cleaning thin plastic limits heat as an option and that means more chemicals. They are better wasting their energy elsewhere. At least push biodegrade cups instead of this.
Reuse wins on every environmental measure: Less water, less CO2 emissions, less toxins, etc.. Compostable cups use way more resources to produce and very few actually get composted. It takes 3 oz of water to wash an r.Cup. It takes 66oz of water to make a new single-use plastic cup. Ceramic cups are too heavy for a plane and the resources it takes to make them are much greater than r.Cups. Trust me. We’ve thought this through.