Qantas achieved a global milestone last month when it operated the first commercial flight designed to generate zero onboard waste.
The airline had previously pledged to reduce 75 percent of its onboard waste by the end of 2021 and to eliminate 100 million single-use plastic items by the end of 2020.
On flight QF739 from Sydney (SYD) to Adelaide (ADL), every item on board was either composted, reused or recycled. A flight on this route would typically produce around 34 kilograms of waste, and the Sydney–Adelaide sector generates roughly 150 tonnes of waste annually.
Qantas replaced approximately 1,000 single-use plastic items with sustainable alternatives or removed them entirely; examples included replacing individually packaged milk and Vegemite servings. Meal containers were made from sugarcane, cutlery from crop starch, and cabin crew collected used papers and printed boarding passes for recycling.
The flight’s environmental impact was further reduced through carbon offsetting. Qantas has introduced an offer to earn 10 Qantas Points per dollar spent on offsetting travel within Australia, and the program supports tree-planting projects in regions of Australia and New Zealand at risk of deforestation.
“In the process of carrying over 50 million people every year, Qantas and Jetstar currently produce an amount of waste equivalent to 80 fully-laden Boeing 747 jumbo jets,” said Andrew David, CEO of Qantas Domestic. “We want to give customers the same level of service they currently enjoy, but without the amount of waste that comes with it.”