Every time I take a flight, whether a short domestic or a 12 hour international, I am mind-blown by the bags of plastic cups, stirrers, and wrappings that are tossed away. I’ve asked cabin crew if there are alternatives and almost all of them have agreed it is incredibly wasteful, but cost effective, lightweight, and easy to handle. There just were not other inexpensive and TSA safe options at the time.
Leave it to our partners at 4ocean who have the bandwidth, knowledge, and following to make a lasting change. 4ocean, the global ocean cleanup company, announced it has partnered with Air Canada to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastics on the airline’s aircrafts and in its lounges. We hope this momentum quickly spreads to other carriers across the globe.
As 4ocean’s exclusive Canadian airline partner, Air Canada’s partnership marks a key milestone in its plastic reduction and elimination strategy, which will start with eliminating all plastic stir sticks on aircraft and in lounges in the summer of 2019. Through this partnership, Air Canada is also creating the opportunity for its employees to participate in 4ocean’s coastal North America clean-ups in 2019.
“We are ecstatic to partner with Air Canada in an initiative to eliminate single-use plastic,” said Tony Chvala, Chief Operating Officer at 4ocean. “We believe Air Canada’s sustainability program is a giant leap forward in this initiative. 4ocean is looking forward to removing thousands of pounds of plastic and waste with Air Canada.”
“A key target of Air Canada’s corporate waste strategy is our Single-Use Plastics Reduction program. Our partnership with 4ocean as the exclusive Canadian airline is a great fit with this journey and we are especially delighted with the opportunity to engage our employees in our communities,” said Teresa Ehman, Senior Director of Environmental Affairs at Air Canada. “There are many Air Canada employees who care deeply about sustainability and the environment who are keen to make a difference in actively help reduce ocean plastic pollution.”
To date, 4ocean has removed more than 4 million pounds of trash from the ocean and coastlines in 27 countries and partnered with over 15 charities. The company currently employs more than 300 people in the U.S., Indonesia and Haiti. Drawing from their years of experience, 4ocean will also work with the Air Canada team to develop educational resources on ocean conservation for employees to draw from and further enhance the company as an environmental steward.
Air Canada’s ongoing plastic reduction efforts include researching and rethinking important decisions made at various stages of the supply chain. In 2018, a review and assessment of all plastics used onboard was conducted, and the company identified options to eliminate, replace, reduce or recycle its single-use plastics. The plastic stir sticks will be the first single-use plastic to be eliminated. The company is supporting this work in partnership with University of Toronto graduate students in their final year of their Master of Science in the Sustainability Management program. The students are working with Air Canada to identify alternatives to plastic use onboard the aircraft.
SEVENSEAS Media has respectfully mimicked the 4ocean model about pulling trash from the ocean with a small donation (these are the sorts of examples we are supposed to replicate, anything to remove more trash!). Please do your part to cut single-use plastic from your life and remove trash anywhere you go, don’t think someone else will. If you don’t see any plastic waste where you live then consider a donation to 4ocean or SEVENSEAS Media and we can take care of the rest!
4ocean is a global company that actively removes trash from the ocean and coastlines, helps create sustainable economies around the world and inspires individuals to work together for a cleaner ocean. Global cleanup operations are funded entirely through the sale of their bracelets and sustainability products, where every item purchased funds the removal of one pound of trash from the ocean. By creating jobs, utilizing the latest technology and raising awareness about the impact of plastic and trash in the ocean, the company is building the first economy for ocean plastic and creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for the ocean. For more information, please visit 4ocean.com, follow @4ocean on Instagram, and join 4ocean on Facebook.
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline serving nearly 220 airports on six continents. Canada’s flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2018 served nearly 51 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 63 airports in Canada, 56 in the United States and 100 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2018 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.