Qantas uses plasticware up to thirty times before throwing it out

[RamboLiberal]

Passengers on Australia’s biggest international airline are eating off plastic cutlery that’s been used as many as 30 times, according to the Daily Telegraph. Qantas says after reusing the knives, forks and spoons many times, the utensils are then collected and sent to be cleaned at a washing facility. Then a new set of passengers are served meals with the same cutlery.

Plastic cutlery used on international flights, which on a weekday transport up to 19,000 passengers to and from Australia, might be used at least three times. “It really depends on how far the cutlery has deteriorated,” a Qantas spokesperson told the Telegraph. “It could be quite a few times more than three.”

A supplier who visited a Qantas Catering center said staffers had told him that the cutlery was being washed up to 30 times before being discarded.

“I asked them, ‘If you have half a leftover sandwich, do you put it with the other half?’” the supplier said, according to The Telegraph. “They said no.”

Premium economy, first class and business travelers on Qantas eat with plastic knives and metal forks and spoons, but plastic cutlery is distributed in the economy cabins of international and domestic flights. On Qantas’ domestic flights, which transport up to 50,000 passengers each weekday, the plastic cutlery is not recycled because of “the sheer volume of passengers and because there’s a higher proportion of economy passengers than in business and first class,” a spokesperson said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/2010/05/17/2010-05-17_qantas_uses_plasticware_up_to_thirty_times_before_throwing_it_out.html#ixzz0oIRi8cxc

If it's washed what is the problem?

[Subdivisions]

1. Seems that if it were properly washed there should be

no problem re-using it. After all, how many times would metal be re-washed and used? As long as the utensils are clean, I don't see what the difference would be. In fact, seems a little stupid to me to use plastic simply because it does eventually need to be replaced. Far sooner than any metal utensil would need to be.

[Warpy]

2. No problem that I can see.

I'm glad at least one airline has gotten sensible about "disposable" cutlery. Of course the stuff can be washed. Of course it can be reused until it finally breaks.

It's funny to remember air travel in the 50s. The planes were propeller jobs, the cutlery was stainless, and the plates were china. The food was pretty good, too, as I remember, although a hungry kid will eat anything.

[grasswire]

5. the airline spoons I have are silver plate

My mom had a Western Airlines spoon and a United spoon in her collection, and they are both marked silver plate -- I just checked them. Those were the days. I even remember that women used to dress up for plane flights and even wore corsages. Wow.

[CreekDog]

8. When I was 5 on TWA, they handed out menus

in 1976!

[Mz Pip]

3. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Our landfills are entirely to full of single use plastic shit.

[Bunny]

4. I would have no problem with this, but this paragraph bothers me:

"Qantas says after reusing the knives, forks and spoons many times, the utensils are then collected and sent to be cleaned at a washing facility. Then a new set of passengers are served meals with the same cutlery."

After the cutlery is used "many times", it's sent to be washed? Are they serious? Surely* they're washing it between each use? :shrug:



*I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.

[DefenseLawyer]

6. Col' got to be. Yo! Shiiiiiitttt...

[tammywammy]

7. What they're saying is not all the plastic cutlery is recycled

Some gets thrown away and some gets washed and reused.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. How's this any different than using regular cutlery and washing it?

Is the issue because it's plastic and we're so used to being wasteful when it comes to plastics?

I have news for them, my grandmother was WAY ahead of her time. She washed plastic cutlery and reused her margarine and cool-whip tubs long before reusable plastics were cool.

[csziggy]

11. I've got plastic peanut butter jars I use for freezing stuff

Some of those jars are older than members of this forum! They don't even make that size anymore. It's too bad, because they hold a good 4-6 servings, have nice straight sides so the stuff slides out once it is partially thawed, and they are sturdier with tighter lids than any other freezer containers I have ever used.

We reuse many of our plastic containers - in fact, I favor some brands because their containers are sturdy enough and have good lids rather than ones that are super flimsy with peel off lids. Once the containers get scratched up, I put them into the recycling, but by then they have already been reused many, many times.

We also wash our plastic cups and cutlery. SOlO brand plastic cups and dishes can go through the dishwasher as well as their cutlery, at least on the top rack.

[AnArmyVeteran]

10. Haven't you heard of DRIP BEER? It's recycled beer from old glasses..

Waitresses go around and pick up glasses of beer and if there's any left it get poured back into the barrel. It's called Drip Beer. The breakfast of champions. A lot of taverns and bars did that in the 40s, 50s, and at other times in history. My Dad worked at several growing up and he told me how the manager would have all the half beer bottles rounded up and poured back in the vat. Not too much was wasted back then. But the taverns weren't doing it out of any sense of conservation. They were greedy.

One way to stop that back then was to put a cigar out in the beer. There are a lot of scams. One for each person I'd be willing to bet...