Are you flying to: ABQ, ATL, BWI, ORD, CVG, CLE, DEN, RSW, FLL, LAX, MIA, JFK, LGA, PDX, RDU, SMF, SLC, SFO, SEA, TPA or DCA in the near future?
If you are on a domestic flight into one of these cities, chances are you’ll see our In-Flight Recycling program in action. The program expanded by leaps and bounds in 2008 and has collected over 500,000 pounds of plastics, paper and aluminum since January.
In September, flight attendants, cabin service crews and catering partners joined forces to help construct our first EarthCraft style Habitat for Humanity Home fully funded by in-flight recycling. It was an amazing opportunity for all organizations to actually see and touch the end result of their recycling efforts. Delta has made it’s recycling program a win win for the company, the environment and the communities we serve.
Factoid: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
Do you recycle onboard?
Jennifer O.
Project Manager
Environmental Health
November 14th, 2008 at 12:28 am
I try to recycle whenever I can. I applaud Delta for initiating this program. However, I really dislike the first paragraph of this post. Why these cities - and not ALL cities? Why only domestic? I guess I could see how this might not be so practical on Connection carriers. Also, I guess that on international flights this might not be feasible, since not all countries strive as much to recycle; however, some countries like Panama, rather than recycling, actually re-use glass soda bottles. Much better! Still, you could at least recycle on those return flights.
Overall, this is great. Let’s expand it!
November 14th, 2008 at 8:31 am
[...] airlines are getting into recycling as well. According ot the Delta Air Lines blog, since January Delta’s In-Flight Recycling program has collected more than 500,000 pounds of [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
On a recent flight from SFO to ATL, I was so impressed by the efforts for recycling and source separating. However, I was surprised during the beverage service that Delta is still using Styrofoam cups for coffee! Are there any plans to change the cup material to something more environmentally friendly, such as paper coffee cups?
November 15th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Continuing sad_tomato’s thought… maybe even using *real* mugs? If you’re afraid of them getting stolen, give flight attendants a sheet to mark which passengers (by seat) use a mug, collect them all afterward, and clean and reuse!. I know, sounds too much like first class, but I’m sure most of us coach passengers would be happy!
November 20th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Here is some background information on Delta’s in-flight recycling program:
•Trash management (and recycling opportunity) at the airport level varies from location to location. In some cities, Delta may hold a waste contract directly with provider and at others we may utilize the trash provider the Airport contracts. Thus, recycling expansion is on a city-by-city basis as there are many logistics to work out.
•The management and disposal of trash from international flights (arriving back into the United States) is strictly regulated by the USDA. While Delta does envision recycling on arriving international flights in the future, the collection program we design must maintain compliance with regulations first and foremost. Expansion into arriving international cities has not been ruled out.
•Adding reusable mugs in coach is not really feasible because the added weight of the mugs and storage carts would increase the amount of fuel consumed. We do have a product development team which evaluates alternative beverage cups and other items on-board. Perhaps styrofoam cups will become a thing of the past….I can’t say at this time.
Were you on a flight where the Flight Attendants did an exceptional job recycling? I’d love to hear!