Comments on: The Scourge of Inflight Garbage

By: bill helmers

bill helmers — Thu, 03 May 2018 11:28:12 +0000

There is technology out there that can ‘gasify’ a plane’s in-flight solid waste produced turning it into nutrient rich garden fertilizer, water and potential heat energy to be recaptured. We are planning to install this for our luxury beach resort in Indonesia. Might be a great solution for smaller airports that cannot afford bio-mass to energy plants on site. Depending on the tipping fees of the jurisdiction involved the cost of the technology might actually present a good return on investment never mind the huge benefit of reducing land fill waste and reducing the atrocious carbon footprint of the airline industry.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 18:29:54 +0000

I can’t believe the slobbishness of people on planes! Oh and why, why, WHY? Do passengers using the loos on Air Canada flights insist on stuffing their used paper products (hopefully not used bog roll) into the seat cover dispenser slots? I don’t know what it is – is it the location of the slots? Does it LOOK like a rubbish bin to you? Huh? No!! Please stop!!

By: Rey

Rey — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 10:48:48 +0000

Nice idea for plastic bags.

By: Joe Davis

Joe Davis — Sun, 21 May 2017 20:38:20 +0000

Good idea about plastic bag. I take my own to hold the trash which will overload the dining tray. I find KLM planes are cleaner than US ones. Is it because we Americans are sloppier than the Dutch (passengers and crews). May be a challenge to get some of us to use the plastic bags.
And toilets! On some of our long flights you need Wellies to enter half way through the flight. Contrast KLM and KAL.

By: Frederick

Frederick — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 03:41:33 +0000

There is no excuse for being a slob. As for cramped quarters, yes that is true in economy. But every time I fly business class on BA the cabin ends up a mess of newspapers and rubbish on the floor and that can’t be blamed on cramped quarters.

By: Sean S.

Sean S. — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 19:59:43 +0000

There’s a lot of judgment going on here in these threads, and few have addressed the sheer amount of waste that is generated period in many areas, but especially airlines. Part of this is the nature of large scale food catering these days, relying on prepackaged and cellophane wrapped goods, as well as bottled and canned drinks. Even thinking of the standard meal on a plane you have multiple wrapped goods, multiple condiments, the cutlery is plastic and is wrapped with the napkin. Like the large Amazon boxes and packaging for a tiny item, this is the result of a lack of examining how to make things more efficient and to generate less waste. I suspect that if motivated by financial penalties (such as increasing the expense of trash collection for airlines in some fashion) you would very quickly see someone examining how to reduce plastic use.

By: Anand Kelkar

Anand Kelkar — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 02:37:54 +0000

Patrick,

Some great points from you and lot of readers. When I fly on very long flights with kids we invariably create junk.
One of the things I have observed is that the pouch that contains magazines is very small and really thightlh assembled. This makes it hard to keep any trash there until it’s collected. I suggest we get rid of that pouch and create a small trash compartment in the seat in front under the food tray that drops down. It will have a simple durable trash bad inserted in it that the cleaning crew simply replaces. Send the magazines as PDF files via email as part of your flight reservation.

Regards
Anand

By: Abby

Abby — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 21:12:08 +0000

In reply to Stephen R. Stapleton.

LOL…I keep telling myself I paid good money to be on the flight every time I experience horrible turbulence. I feel like a prisoner strapped in my seat, whith no escape, being tossed around like a leaf in the wind…..all I can think of is I can’t believe I paid to be here.

By: CAG

CAG — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 18:22:32 +0000

“3. Cut down on the insane amount of plastic that accompanies the typical inflight meal (cellophane wrappers, cups, etc.).”

Conversely, maybe the problem is that the airlines have stopped feeding people (except in first class), so the passengers bring on a wide variety of different kinds of food and eat it during preflight, before any trash runs can be made.

In the olden days of airline meals, there was a certain discipline imposed by the event. People for the most part waited for the food service, received their tray, and had their tray (with the waste) picked up in an orderly fashion. I think they were willing to wait for the food and the cleanup, and without the surly uncouthness I see nowadays.

In any case, from now on I’m going to start packing a few old produce plastic bags in my computer bag to offer to the more slovenly of today’s fliers, whether or not airlines start offering trash bags at the seats.

By: Ad absurdum per aspera

Ad absurdum per aspera — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 17:17:23 +0000

In reply to Alan Dahl.

> Secondly space in coach is very, very tight these days so most
> people are in their own private strait jacket and incapable of
> picking up anything dropped on the floor in-flight

Welcome to my world, just last night. I had the window seat, and another pretty big guy had the middle, on a near completely full (though mercifully brief) flight. My peanut wrapper was down there somewhere, but there was no way I could even look for it, much less get it, without making everybody else get up. After landing, I couldn’t find it.

That said, we did eventually land and get up (blood circulation in the legs kinda hurts! why would anyone want it?) and managed to pick up whatever trash hadn’t been taken by the flight attendants (who had gloved up, equipped themselves with plastic garbage bags, and made a couple of passes for that purpose, typically of Southwest). My mother would turn in her grave if I walked away from a plane, or any other public place, and left behind the sort of mess that you so often see these days.

I don’t think it can be entirely explained by returning the contempt with which some airlines treat you, though that may be part of it — these days you see the same thing in parks, on the sidewalk, etc.

“If you can pack it in, you can pack it out.”