Southwest Airlines Reducing Plastic Use With New In-Flight Cup and Stir Stick

Southwest Airlines has unveiled a new bamboo cup and wooden stir stick for in-flight beverage service that's expected to help the low-cost carrier reduce its single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

The new cold cup is comprised of 93 percent non-plastic materials, with a pulp blend consisting of 75 percent bamboo and 25 percent paper with a polyethylene lining while the new stir stick is made from 100 percent FSC-certified birch wood.

The new cup and stir stick are part of Southwest's Nonstop to Net Zero strategy, which has set a goal to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service where feasible by 2030.

"We expect our new bamboo cold cup, wood stir stick, and other initiatives to exceed our goal to reduce plastics from inflight service by 50 percent by weight by 2025, and we're excited to continue collaborating with our suppliers to work toward our goal of fully eliminating, where feasible, single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030," Helen Giles, Managing Director of Environmental Sustainability at Southwest Airlines, said in a statement.

"It's been a year of work since we announced our Nonstop to Net Zero strategy, including our initiatives to tackle single-use plastics in our inflight service," added Giles. "Today's announcement celebrates the hard work and dedication of many Teams across Southwest to meet these goals."

This past summer, Southwest eliminated additional plastic by transitioning to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials.

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