Will Iceland lead Scandinavians to plastic free flights?
Iceland holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2019. The Icelandic Presidency prioritizes the ocean with a focus on the fight against plastic in the marine environment, one of our times biggest challenges.
The Presidency project NordMar Plastic runs for three years, up until 2021 and is in joint partnership of all eight Nordic countries. On the 10th April 2019 Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden approved a Nordic Declaration calling for a global agreement to combat marine plastic litter and microplastics.
Icelandic Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson has been contacted to suggest Iceland use this opportunity to lead Scandinavian airlines into plastic free flights by removing single-use plastic items from their onboard catering and replacing it with more eco-friendly alternatives.
Portugese airline HiFly flew the world´s first plastic free in January 2019 saving 1500kg of plastics during their first 16 flights between Portugal and Brazil carrying more than 4300 passengers. HiFly aims to make its entire fleet of more than 30 aircraft “plastic-free” by the end of 2019.
Most tourists visiting Iceland fly there to see clean and unspoilt nature. It would therefore be a very welcomed initiative by passengers on airlines flying to Iceland to receive environmentally friendly catering onboard. The Jetbanus team can assist airlines with the implementation of plastic free flights. For more information: www.jetbanus.com/contact/
References:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/hi-fly-airline-first-to-ban-single-use-plastic-on-flights/
Sustainable tourism in the north
http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1258270/FULLTEXT01.pdf
