An airline's food service has found a way to make flying more eco-friendly without sacrificing convenience for travelers, TTG Asia reported.
Santan, the food and beverage arm of Capital A (AirAsia's parent company), has started replacing single-use plastics with materials made from plants. The company uses cups, lids, and cutlery made from polylactic acid, a material that comes from renewable sources such as corn and cassava.
This plant-based plastic breaks down much faster than regular plastic. Studies show it decomposes by over 90% in industrial composting facilities, while traditional plastics can stick around for hundreds of years. You can even compost the paper cups at home because they have a PLA coating.
The program has taken off in Malaysia and Thailand, with plans to expand across all seven airlines under the AirAsia brand. By making this switch, AirAsia will cut carbon pollution by 500 tonnes yearly in just those two countries.
Santan isn't stopping with better packaging. It's also using artificial intelligence to predict how much food is needed for flights. This will help the company avoid preparing too much food that might go to waste, making the operation more efficient.
The move helps reduce the plastic pollution that comes from the oil and gas industry. When companies and people use less plastic, they avoid microplastics that end up in our bodies and reduce the pollution that spikes temperatures and fuels extreme weather events that harm our communities.
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"This strategic shift to compostable PLA packaging plays an important role in addressing the issue of plastic waste in the aviation sector," Santan CEO Catherine Goh said. "We hope it will inspire others in the industry to make meaningful changes for the planet."
The aviation industry faces unique challenges when it comes to sustainability, but this move shows how even airlines (traditionally big polluters) can take meaningful steps toward a cleaner future.
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