{"id":9910,"date":"2024-10-30T20:46:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T20:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/southwest-airlines-switches-to-bamboo-cups-to-reduce-plastic\/"},"modified":"2024-10-30T20:46:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T20:46:25","slug":"southwest-airlines-switches-to-bamboo-cups-to-reduce-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/southwest-airlines-switches-to-bamboo-cups-to-reduce-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Airlines switches to bamboo cups to reduce plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>You may notice something&#8217;s a little different next time you order a cold drink on a Southwest Airlines flight.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of plastic, your beverage will arrive in a cup made primarily of bamboo and will be served with a birchwood stir stick sporting the carrier&#8217;s iconic &#8220;Heart&#8221; branding.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what it looks like:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-2.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">S T LUMSDEN\/SOUTHWEST AIRLINES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The new stir stick is made entirely of birchwood that is certified by the <a href=\"https:\/\/fsc.org\/en\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Forest Stewardship Council<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that uses independent parties to verify that forests are managed responsibly. The new cup is made from 93% non-plastic materials, with a pulp blend comprised of 75% bamboo and 25% paper, and also has a polyethylene lining. Bamboo is considered a &#8220;rapidly renewable material&#8221; by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgbc.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Green Building Council<\/a> (an organization dedicated to minimizing climate impacts) because it reaches maturation in three to five years.<\/p>\n<p>Southwest said it conducted &#8220;robust testing&#8221; on the items with both customers and employees \u2014 switching from plastic to bamboo cups and birchwood stir sticks won&#8217;t make your water, soda or other cold beverages taste different.<\/p>\n<p>The Dallas-based airline also says that swapping to bamboo and birchwood cups will help it reduce its use of inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds per year. This will help the company make progress towards its larger sustainability goals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;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,&#8221; said Helen Giles, Southwest&#8217;s managing director of environmental sustainability, i<a href=\"https:\/\/www.swamedia.com\/news-and-stories\/news-release\/southwest-airlines-launches-new-inflight-cup-and-stir-stick-designed-to-reduce-a-MC4NXAJ3SMRZGJZBMK3VXUEWGYEA#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20expect%20our%20new%20bamboo,single%2Duse%20plastics%20from%20inflight\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">n a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Southwest&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/citizenship\/planet\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nonstop to Net Zero<\/a> strategy, which was announced in 2023, established the airline&#8217;s goal of joining the larger aviation community in reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company&#8217;s 2025 goals are to reduce single-use plastics generated by inflight service by 50% (by weight) and to save 50 million incremental gallons of jet fuel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.625%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/Southwest-AirlinesFacebook_Woohoo-for-Bamboo-Cups.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">S T LUMSDEN\/SOUTHWEST AIRLINES\/FACEBOOK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Additionally, in July 2024, Southwest previously reduced its use of light plastic by switching the wrapping for its napkin bundles from plastic to a paper sheath made of 100% post-consumer recycled materials, fully eliminating the use of plastic in this specific item.<\/p>\n<div class=\"&#10;        EmailSignUp_container__qYzYT&#10;        undefined&#10;        EmailSignUp_isLoading__i_qm0&#10;      \"><picture class=\"EmailSignUp_graphic__zgpFm\"><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-mob.svg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-dt.svg\"\/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"EmailSignUp_form__C8FWb\">\n<p>Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the coming months, Southwest plans to introduce a new select-a-snack offering on flights to and from Hawaii to decrease food waste and reduce single-use plastic packaging by at least 18,000 pounds annually.<\/p>\n<p>Southwest is looking at other places to further reduce the use of single-use plastics inflight.<\/p>\n<p>According to the carrier&#8217;s 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwest.com\/assets\/pdfs\/communications\/one-reports\/2023-One-Report_Online_Final.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Southwest One Report<\/a>, while 75% of the onboard single-use plastics were generated from cups and stir sticks (now gone), as well as straws and plastic snack packaging, about 25% of the plastic the airline is trying to eliminate comes from single-use wine and liquor bottles. The airline has also made a commitment to improve its recycling program by (among other actions) &#8220;practicing consistency&#8221; regarding onboard recycling, improving its uniform recycling program and supporting a variety of programs and organizations that upcycle the airline&#8217;s leather seat covers.<\/p>\n<p>Southwest, of course, isn&#8217;t the only airline working on ways to reach its sustainability goals. On National Reuse Day (Oct. 20), Alaska Airlines tested a reusable cup program on a round-trip flight between Seattle and Minneapolis. The airline <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/alaska-airlines-no-plastic-cups\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">eliminated plastic cups<\/a> on flights as of January 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You may notice something&#8217;s a little different next time you order a cold drink on a Southwest Airlines flight. Instead of plastic, your beverage will arrive in a cup made primarily of bamboo and will be served with a birchwood stir stick sporting the carrier&#8217;s iconic &#8220;Heart&#8221; branding. Here&#8217;s what it looks like: S T [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","entry","has-media","owp-thumbs-layout-horizontal","owp-btn-normal","owp-tabs-layout-horizontal","has-no-thumbnails","has-product-nav"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=1600&resize=1600,1067&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=1600&resize=1600,1067&ssl=1",1600,1067,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1",1200,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1",1200,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/10\/20241029_Southwest-Reducing-Single-Use-Plastics_New-Cup-SD-Flight-46.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/origin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href=\"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/category\/travel\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Travel<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"You may notice something&#8217;s a little different next time you order a cold drink on a Southwest Airlines flight. Instead of plastic, your beverage will arrive in a cup made primarily of bamboo and will be served with a birchwood stir stick sporting the carrier&#8217;s iconic &#8220;Heart&#8221; branding. Here&#8217;s what it looks like: S T&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9912,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9910\/revisions\/9912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}