Tuesday 11 May 2021

Alaska Airlines takes off with boxed water on flights to reduce plastic waste

Alaska Airlines has announced a new partnership that has seen the company make the switch to using boxed water as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles.

It has teamed up with Boxed Water to replace plastic bottles with 92% plant-based water cartons, with the move expected to help reduce 7.2 million plastic bottles from landfills every year.

Boxed Water is a fully recyclable box-shaped carton of water, sealed with a plant-based cap, with each carton made from sustainably harvested trees and the multi-filtered water having gone through an eight-step purification process.

According to statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline industry generated around 6.7 million tons of cabin waste in 2018 and the number is growing.

Alaska Airlines successfully launched Boxed Water on its Horizon Air-operated flights as a pilot earlier this year and will expand to all of its flights throughout the summer.

It will also resume recycling cans, bottles and water bottles, after halting it for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diana Birkett Rakow, Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Alaska Airlines said: “At Alaska, sustainability is part of our culture, values and how we run our airline.

“While we know our greatest impact is through carbon emissions, every decision we make, including how we source the products we serve on board, is important. Our new partnership with Boxed Water enables us to offer our guests a significantly more renewable packaged water option. We've received positive feedback from employees and guests and are excited to be expanding to more flights.”

Alaska Airlines also recently announced a strategy to reduce its climate impact, with plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.