Qantas has announced plans to cut the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 75 per cent by the end of 2021.
The Australian carrier and Jetstar – a budget airline operating in Australia that is owned by Qantas – generate more than 30,000 tonnes of waste every year.
Qantas has also committed to remove over 100 million single-use plastic items each year by the end of 2020.
To meet this target, the airline will phase out boarding passes, frequent flyer cards and operational manuals.
The airline has already removed plastic wrapping from headsets, blankets and pyjamas, and replaced plastic straws with paper ones.
Qantas also pledges to introduce recyclable or compostable coffee cups, recycle old uniforms and increase the donation or composting of food.
Meanwhile, a new frequent flyer programme has been announced in an effort to increase voluntary carbon offsetting.
From mid-2019, fliers can earn 10 points for every Australian dollar they spend offsetting their travel to or from Australia. A return Melbourne to London flight, for example, would equate to $47 (£25) and earn members 470 Qantas points.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said: “Few industries can eradicate waste completely, but with this program we’re saying that avoidable waste should no longer be an acceptable by-product of how we do business.
“This isn’t just the right thing to do, it is good for business and will put us ahead of legislative requirements in the various countries we operate in, where there is an end-date on various single use plastics,” he said.
Qantas has an existing target to reduce waste sent to landfill by 30 per cent by 2020, an objective it says it's on track to achieve.
