Half Full

On a recent flight toCalifornia the flight attendant gave me a glass of water. Then she gave the other 200 passengers a glass of water. Or Coke, or tomato juice. Three hours later, I got another drink. So did everyone else. One flight, 400 plastic cups.

I flew United. According to their website, they fly 3300 flights daily. Some are short on small planes. Some are very long on very big planes. Let say for today’s discussion that they are all on Boeing 737s, which according to Boeing averages about 150 seats, depending on configuration.

So let’s see:   3300 x 150=  495,000 passengers. Times two drinks= 990,000 cups. I think my numbers are conservative. On a recent flight to Asia I was offered more than a dozen cups.

That’s a million cups a day on one airline. And they all go in the trash.

The thing is, United uses a nice, pure polypropylene #5 plastic cup. A terrific industrial nutrient. The possibilities are endless. We have chairs in the office made from PP. I use a Preserve razor made with PP. Great stuff.

I went to the galley and asked one of the flight attendants what they did with the cups.  I was told they through them away. It was too difficult to separate, and the cleaning crews in each city didn’t have the mechanisms in place to handle recycling.

Here is the thing. This isn’t a rant, but an identification of an opportunity.  United has the opportunity to become a leader, cut their costs and create something from the waste they generate. Waste that they charge us to create by the way.

“We understand the importance of respecting the environment and conserving the world's resources. We are committed to taking action by reducing our impact on the environment.” That iss the environmental statement on United’s website.

Today I am issuing a partnership challenge to United: Work with Pedro’s to collect the cups and together we will make something long lasting and useful. My glass (or plastic cup) is half full. I see the opportunity. The question is, does United?

CZ