BYO cups: Air New Zealand’s scheme to cut waste from its lounges

Air New Zealand says cutting out disposable cups in its lounges will save one million of them ending up as waste.

The airline will move to reusable ceramic ones used in lounges and it is also inviting passengers to bring their own keepcups if they want to take their tea or coffee on to the plane, as they do now with disposable cups.

Air New Zealand’s chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin says ditching single-use cups was part of the airline’s commitment to sustainability and followed some harsh criticism of its performance by Consumer NZ.

“We know everyone looks forward to having a coffee. Rest assured our customers will still be able to get their coffee fix with us using one of our ceramic cups or their own reusable cup.”

The process will start in Invercargill this month with the rollout to other lounges expected to be completed by the end of January.

“Nearly one million single-use cups are used for hot drinks across lounges each year and another nine million in our aircraft. These cups are commercially compostable, but there is limited composting infrastructure in New Zealand that can take them, so most are ending up in landfill.”

Air New Zealand was earlier this year called out by Consumer NZ for giving the impression that all cups were composted in the watchdog’s crusade against greenwashing. Only those taken off planes in Auckland could be composted.

The new lounge scheme was part of the response to the “fair challenge” by Consumer, said Hannifin.

“We acknowledge that we had to do better, particularly in waste.”

It was hoped there would be no pushback from customers who were now being written to. Hannifin was Countdown’s director of corporate affairs, quality, health & safety and sustainability before working at Air NZ and said the removal of disposable cups in lounges was similar to the plastic bag ban in supermarkets.

“People do quickly get used to change.”

Hannifin said the airline was supporting a more circular approach to waste by creating less of it in the first place. It had sufficient stocks of ceramic cups and dishwashing facilities (apart from the regional lounge at Christchurch) to ensure they were clean and hygienic.

In its 2023 Sustainability Report, the airline said it diverted from landfill 40.4 per cent of waste from domestic ground sites and airports, short of its 65 per cent target. The lounge move would help this and was something the airline could do now while it faced bigger challenges, she said.

Flying is a big polluter and the airline was “very aware” that it has a greater problem to solve in moving away from fossil fuel.

“This remains our greatest challenge and priority, and we have a significant programme of work under way. But as the airline navigates the multiple challenges to find a more sustainable fuel replacement or a lower emissions aircraft, we must double down on the sustainability initiatives we can action now,” Hannifin said.

The airline had set a goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

These would require significant changes to its fleet and operations to transition away from fossil fuel. It is working with aircraft makers to bring in small battery-powered planes, larger hydrogen-powered ones as well as testing sustainable aviation fuel – the most likely way of cutting emissions on long-haul flights.

“But we can’t just wait for these big initiatives,” said Hannifin.

Waste to landfill also contributed to the airline’s carbon footprint.

“Managing waste better is within our control and removing single-use cups in our lounges is a step in the right direction,” she said.

“Every step we take, including the small ones, will reduce the airline’s environmental impact.”