Plastic bottles are everywhere, every year more and more of them filling the landfills and eventually the oceans, injuring and killing fish, sea birds and marine mammals.

For a single plastic bottle to be totally decomposed in the nature it takes an average of 450 to 1000 years, depending on the material used, which means that at least the next 6 generations will have to deal with our trash.

Waste produced in the air

Together with my colleagues I took the initiative of recycling the waste used on board of the aircraft in a 5 hours flight from Milan to Abu dhabi and the result was shocking. Empty plastic bottles, cans and paper cups nicely compacted in a special trash and then disposed in plastic bags, in an attempt of drawing the attention on the huge amount of waste produced by airlines day by day and raise awareness on the importance of recycling.

Maybe next time traveling as passenger you will consider asking for a refill other than 2 glasses of water in the same time.

Changes in the air

Most of the airlines seems to be aware of the negative impact that plastic used on board has over the Planet and try to find ways of replacing it with biodegradable materials introducing wooden cutlery, paper wrapping or blankets made from recycled plastic.

In the end of the day, the airline industry owns a lot to the nature and without a clean environment and spotless beaches most of us would be jobless.

How to reduce the plastic used daily

How much plastic are you using every day? Can you find alternative ways of reducing your plastic usage?

Here are few ideas that might help:

1. Replace the plastic straws with a reusable glass/ steel straw.

2. Use a paper bag for your shopping or a cotton bag which is more fashionable and easy to wash.

3. Have your own container ready for take away food and refuse the plastic cutlery that might come with it.

4. Buy water on the glass bottle not only for the nature but also to protect your health. Recent studies shows that water inside of the plastic bottles has more contaminants than tap water.

5. Use a reusable bottle or mug even when you go to Starbucks.