posted by Catherine on Aug 11
Could 1 liter of Bells Whiskey & an extra large bottle of Tommy increase your carbon emissions?
I think that they could if they were tax-free goods you brought at your departure airport! Then multiply that up by everyone who ever travelled on a plane this week - and that’s some serious extra emissions right there!
We always talk about the little things adding up - and so it is your responsibility to help take those first tiny steps towards the solution. It may put you out a little bit and mean that you have to plan a bit further ahead than others - but it is all worth it in the end.
So, What Am I Talking About?
Well, for just this 2-part article I am going to be focusing on the extra weight we might be taking onto a plane with us, just because we aren’t really thinking about the bigger picture.
For example, planes use more fuel the more weight they carry - and we all have a maximum baggage weight when we check in so that’s a given. Only we can make things worse from here. Say we buy loads more stuff in duty free and then take it on the plane - are we making things worse?
What if we all refused to buy canned drinks on planes - how much weight could we save them?
What if we boycotted the sale of tax-free alcohol on flights - would it make a difference to our trip?
It is certainly obvious that the sale of glass bottles of perfumed water are just wasting valuable fuel - so why do planes still carry them?
The Answer?
Us - it’s all our fault. We buy these things (even if only occassionally) and that is why they stock them on board. Products on airplanes are exactly the same as in stores - if people ask for them - they get stocked. If people buy them - they order more.
You might only have ever brought one thing on a plane, but there were about 500 other people on that flight too - and on the 30 other flights that morning that left the same airport.
So lets just think about the impacts of just 2 things here that could help to reduce your impact on your future flights.
Duty Free Alcohol & Perfume:
As soon as you get to the airport and through to the lounges - many people head for the duty free stores to get cheap alcohol and some tax-free perfumes.
Both are in glass containers and contain liquid - both of which are very heavy for their size. Therefore this extra weight is now coming all the way to your destination with you - weighing the plane down.
And in the case of the purfume, we usually want to savethe most money possible - so we buy ourselves a jumbo sized bottle of our favorite scent. And we are well aware that even a well-worn scent in a normal sized bottle will last us several months - so why on earth are we buying the largest bottle we have ever seen - and taking it away with us on a 2 week vacation - we can’t expect to use it all while we are away!
Therefore, the whole thing is going to be carried all the way to your destination, left in the room the whole time we are there - then it will be coming all the way home with you - minus a few squirts! And it is fragile, so could get smashed at any point anyway.
Think of the energy it takes to do that, all the extra care you take with it and it hasn’t added to your trip at all - in fact probably got on your nerves a bit.
Well, read Part 2 to find out how you could still get your favorite smell without all the hassle…..
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