In an attempt to reduce the garbage produced by its operations and to curb number of single-use cups on its flights, Air New Zealand has conducted a trial on its flights.

Air New Zealand, the flag carrier of New Zealand, says it has conducted a trial run of flights without any single-use cups on board. In a press statement, the airline says that the trial was part of its ongoing efforts to reduce the millions of cups used on its aircraft each year.

The statement adds that the carrier trialled the initiative on six domestic flights last week, with customers being encouraged to bring reusable cups with them, or being provided with one for use during onboard service.

“The knowledge gained from customer feedback, operational logistics, and impact will help to determine the viability of implementing the initiative in the long term,” says the airline.

In a related development, the airline recently also removed all single-use cups from its domestic airport lounges, saying it would lead to saving of around one million single-use cups per year ending up on the landfills. However, the carrier admitted that doing the same inflight posed a much greater challenge.

The airline adds that five years ago, it had run another trial to get rid of single-use cups by introducing an edible biscotti coffee cup that passengers could eat like a normal biscuit after finishing their beverage.

According to ANZ’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kiri Hannifin the airline uses around nine million single-use hot beverage cups each year on its aircraft, plus millions more plastic water cups.

“Removing waste in an aviation environment comes with its challenges. Infrastructure to support waste reduction can vary from airport to airport, country to country and the need to operate flights on schedule is paramount. Designing and procuring with a circular mindset right at the outset avoids waste in the first place and is the optimal starting point. We are excited to see how we can make inroads onboard our aircraft,’’ says Hannifin.

“While the airline is very focused on how it can decarbonise, avoiding waste is something it can do right now. Reducing carbon emissions from flying is our greatest challenge, and we are under no illusion about how critical it is to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuel. However, much of decarbonising aviation is reliant on new technologies, policy support, and sustainable aviation fuel becoming more available. That’s why we’re also looking at things that impact our natural environment such as waste, which is much more within our control,” Hannifin adds.