SEATTLE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines
and Lonely Whale today announced the airlines' initiative to
replace single-use, non-recyclable, plastic stir straws and citrus
picks with sustainable alternatives in its airport lounges and on
all domestic and international commercial flights starting
July 16, 2018. The initiative is one
of many in Alaska Airlines' push for sustainability and goal of
reducing its inflight waste per passenger going to landfills by 70
percent by 2020.
"Whether providing fantastic service or leading in
sustainability, caring about people and communities is in our DNA,"
said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska
Airlines' vice president of external relations. "Without a doubt,
we fly to some of the most beautiful places on earth, including
many communities that depend on healthy oceans. We're thrilled to
partner with Lonely Whale to take this next step in our
sustainability journey, and help keep the places we live and fly
beautiful for years to come. It's especially appropriate now as
ending plastic pollution was the theme for Earth Day this
year."
On the blog: Stirred to action: Alaska Airlines to ditch
plastic straws in favor of marine-friendly stir sticks.
The Earth Day Network declared ending plastic pollution to be
the theme for Earth Day this year, which was April 22. The group challenged everyone to reduce
the amount of plastic they consume.
Plastic straws are of special concern because they cannot be
recycled and they've been shown to kill birds and other marine
life. In 2017, Alaska Airlines handed out 22 million plastic stir
straws and citrus picks. Those two items will be replaced starting
in July with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, white
birch stir sticks and a bamboo alternative for the citrus pick.
Non-plastic, marine-friendly straws will be made available to
guests with special needs and upon request.
Alaska Airlines is excited to partner with Lonely Whale, an
incubator that drives impactful, market-based change on behalf of
our ocean. Last year, Lonely Whale launched "For A Strawless
Ocean," a free public resource to reduce ocean plastic pollution.
Starting with the elimination of single-use straws, the resource
was designed as a toolkit to educate and demonstrate practical use
cases.
"Assisting Alaska Airlines in removing plastic straws is an
incredible opportunity," said Dune Ives, Lonely Whale executive
director. "The airline has the most comprehensive inflight
recycling program of any U.S. carrier to date, and their previous
and future commitments to biofuels and sustainability makes them
the perfect partner for Lonely Whale. The banning of single-use
plastic beverage straws sets a new standard for the travel
industry, and we couldn't be happier that Alaska Airlines is the
first. U.S. airline to lead the charge."
Since it started auditing its recycling efforts in 2010, Alaska
Airlines has reduced passenger waste to landfill by 54 percent,
essentially cutting waste in half. In the last eight years, flight
attendants captured 12,000 tons of recyclable materials, about the
same weight of 244 Boeing 737-900ERs.
"Building on our grassroots, employee-led recycling program,
we're thrilled to take the next step to protecting our land and
oceans by removing single-use non-recyclable plastic straws from
our planes," said Jacqueline
Drumheller, sustainability manager for Alaska Airlines.
To further reduce environmental impact, Alaska Airlines has
replaced bottled beer with aluminum cans, which are lighter and
easier to recycle; and a policy to refill plastic cups rather than
requiring a new cup for every round of beverage service was
reintroduced.
The Seattle-based airline is
the leading U.S. airline on the 2017 Dow Jones Sustainability
Index, and has also been ranked No. 1 in fuel efficiency seven
consecutive years by the International Council on Clean
Transportation, an independent, nonprofit research
organization.
For more information about Alaska Airlines environmental
initiatives, visit www.alaskaair.com/sustainability.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and its regional
partners fly 44 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations
with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa
Rica. With Alaska and
Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights
to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Learn about Alaska's award-winning service at
newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and
Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
About Lonely
Whale
Lonely Whale is an award-winning incubator for courageous ideas
that drive impactful market-based change on behalf of our ocean.
Founded in December 2015 by
Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner, Lonely Whale is inspired by the
power of community to create the change needed to ensure a healthy
planet. Lonely Whale is working towards a new era of radical
collaboration, together facilitating the creation of innovative
ideas that push the boundary on current trends in technology, media
and advocacy that positively impact the health of our ocean. Lonely
Whale's work has been recognized by Fast Company's World Changing
Ideas, the Shorty Awards, and the ADDY Awards. Lonely Whale is a proud supporter
of the UN Environment's #CleanSeas campaign. To learn more and
support, visit www.lonelywhale.org or follow @LonelyWhale.
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-airlines-goes-strawless-in-partnership-with-nonprofit-lonely-whale-continues-commitment-to-sustainability-300651647.html
SOURCE Alaska Airlines
