Emirates in 2022 recycled 500k kilos of plastic: as much as a fully loaded A380
On board every flight that lands in Dubai, Emirates staff collect glass and plastic bottles and send them to a recycling facility in Dubai
Emirates has recycled more than 500,000 kilograms of plastic and glass during 2022, collecting discarded bottles aboard their aircraft for reuse. 500,000 kilograms is almost equivalent to the weight of a fully loaded Emirates flagship A380 aircraft.
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Aboard every flight that lands in Dubai, Emirates cabin crew at work collects glass and diplastic bottles and then sends them to a recycling facility in Dubai.
The glass is separated by color and crushed. This "cullet" or recycled glass, ready to be remelted, is then sent to glass manufacturers in the United Arab Emirates To be included in the batch mix for the production of new bottles. Plastic bottles are cleaned, flaked, melted into pellets and sent to manufacturers for production of other plastic products.
The on-board glass and plastic recycling initiative was Suggested by Emirates' environmentally conscious cabin crew in 2019. The proposal was well received and implemented within a few weeks. Emirates has several other initiatives that focus on reusing plastic or using sustainable materials.
Emirates blankets made from recycled plastic
Over the past 6 years, Emirates has offered Sustainable blankets made from plastic bottles to Economy passengers on long-haul flights. The soft, warm blankets are made from 28 recycled plastic bottles. The bottles are shredded into plastic shavings before being made into yarn, a fleece material. The fine yarn is then woven into soft blankets.
In the 6 years since the initiative was introduced, Emirates prevented more than 95 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. It is the largest sustainable in-flight blanket program in the airline industry. The manufacturing process using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) also reduces energy emissions by about 70%.
Prioritize responsible sourcing
Responsible consumption is a key area of environmental focus for Emirates, which has incorporated An environmental requirement in the code of conduct for suppliers and considers the entire life cycle of products from the design stage. For example, wooden tea and coffee stirrers, paper straws, and retail bags on board are made with wood and paper from responsibly managed forests.
Emirates children's toys made from sustainably sourced materials
For Emirates' smaller customers., the complimentary toy bags, children's amenity kits and soft toys are made from recycled plastic bottles and other sustainable materials. Belts, duffel bags, and backpacks are designed with specific age groups in mind and are made from a yarn made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
Each Emirates Emirates backpack is made from 5.5 recycled plastic bottles and each duffel bag is made from 7. The production of bags and duffel bags was made from sustainable materials. The production of Emirates' children's bags has enabled the following. Save 8 million plastic bottles from landfills. The tags are made of recycled paper, and even the outer cases in which the products are shipped are made of recycled cardboard that can be recycled again.
Emirates reusable in-flight amenity kits.
La Emirates' range of amenity kits in premium economy and economy class are complimentary for customers on long-haul flights and feature designs representing the four essential elements of nature: fire, water, earth and air. The bags are reusable and made of washable kraft paper with custom designs printed with non-toxic soy-based ink.
Contents include a selection of durable travel items made from environmentally friendly materials. The toothbrush is made from a combination of wheat straw and plastic, while the socks and shades are made from recycled plastic, in this case rPET (recycled). The packaging used for the dental kit, socks, and lampshades are made at 90% of rice paper.
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