Airlines go through tons of single-use plastics every day, from drink cups to stir sticks — but what if they didn’t have to?
Southwest Airlines is showing how it’s done by rolling out bamboo cups and wooden stir sticks, all part of its plan to eliminate single-use plastics from in-flight service by 2030, reported Inflight.
The bamboo cups, now available for cold drinks onboard, are made from 93% non-plastic materials, blending 75% bamboo and 25% paper with a thin polyethylene lining. Paired with 100% FSC-certified birch wood stir sticks featuring the airline’s signature Heart design, these swaps are set to cut over 1.5 million pounds of single-use plastics every year.
Southwest Airlines has set ambitious goals to tackle single-use plastics. In the short term, it has committed to reducing the weight of plastics used in its service by 50% by 2025 as it works toward its end-of-decade aim.
Helen Giles, Southwest’s managing director of environmental sustainability, said these changes are just the beginning.
“It’s been a year of work since we announced our Nonstop to Net Zero strategy, including our initiatives to tackle single-use plastics in our inflight service. [This] celebrates the hard work and dedication of many Teams across Southwest to meet these goals,” Giles said, per Inflight.
Southwest has already made other strides, including switching to paper overwrap napkins made from 100% recycled materials over the summer. Up next, the airline plans to launch a new snack-selection service that could cut food waste and single-use plastic packaging by another 18,000 pounds annually.
For passengers, these updates mean greener skies without sacrificing the convenience they’re used to.
Bamboo cups and birch wood stir sticks are a huge upgrade from their plastic counterparts for several reasons. Bamboo is a fast-growing, renewable resource that requires less water and minimal to zero pesticides to cultivate, making it far more sustainable than petroleum-based plastic. Similarly, birch wood is biodegradable and can be responsibly sourced — when certified by organizations like FSC, it ensures forests are managed sustainably.
🗣️ Which of the following sustainable changes would make you most likely to choose a particular airline?
🔘 Using cleaner fuel ⛽
🔘 Reducing in-flight waste 🗑️
🔘 Making it easy to choose low-emissions itineraries 📋
🔘 I don’t pay attention to sustainability when I fly ✈️
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Whereas plastic can take hundreds of years to break down and frequently ends up polluting oceans and harming wildlife, these materials decompose naturally, leaving a much smaller environmental impact. Plus, manufacturing them typically produces less heat-trapping gases, making them a win for the planet from production to disposal.
Southwest’s efforts are part of a bigger trend across industries that are tackling plastic waste. Other companies, like Best Buy and Starbucks, are also stepping up with their own innovations to cut down on single-use plastic. With these changes, big and small, brands are making a real impact in the fight against planet-warming pollution.
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