QF Cutlery

[samh004]

As long as they are hygienically washing the utensils, I'm fine with them re-using; way too much landfill today - can you calculate how many sets would be tossed by Virgin on any given day? Multiply that by every airline that uses plastic utensils and what figure do you come to?

Kudos to Qantas for seeing that their sturdier cutlery can be re-used and are taking steps to reduce landfill. Jeers (once again) to News Ltd for their typical shortsighted and useless reporting on a subject.

Well I recall the article did say that the cutlery was only reused on International flights, everything on domestic flights, a bigger volume, is still thrown out. Or recycled in some other way.

 

[Mal]

I don't have a drama with it.

I assume the cutlery is washed in hot water and sterilised via infra-red or similar before re-use.

 

[medhead]

"I asked them, 'If you have half a leftover sandwich, do you put it with another half?' " the supplier said.

Typical sensationalistic journalism - one is reusable the other is not; get a grip!

They aren't reusable? Reminds me of the time that I scrapped the salad off 40, 3 day old meat and salad sandwiches and added a slice of cheese for the army cook to toast them.

 

[kamchatsky]

Whilst I am not a big fan of QF, I think the media is way over the top on this. As long as QF actually cleans the cutlery properly I think it is actually a good idea. Our society is becoming a throw away society where everything needs to be thown away .....

 

[JohnK]

Very sad.

Metal cutlery is meant to be re-used. Plastic cutlery should be thrown away. Please don't tell me they also re-use the meal containers.

What next? Re-using plastic cups? How about re-using styrofoam cups?

 

[Mal]

Metal cutlery is meant to be re-used. Plastic cutlery should be thrown away. Please don't tell me they also re-use the meal containers.

What next? Re-using plastic cups? How about re-using styrofoam cups?

I don't see the difference. Plastic cutlery (if made from the right materials) can be re-used. Qantas also re-uses the coffee cups on international flights, and I presume the meal containers may also be sanitised and re-used.

 

[oz_mark]

. Please don't tell me they also re-use the meal containers.

I've always assumed that they do!

 

[ejb]

I've always assumed that they do!

It never occurred to me that they would not be reused.

ejb

 

[samh004]

It never occurred to me that they would not be reused.

ejb

Exactly, they’re the wrong type of plastic to be used once and thrown.

How about re-using styrofoam cups?

Styrofoam cups on the other hand, well that’s like comparing plastic cutlery to a sandwich

 

[JohnK]

I don't see the difference. Plastic cutlery (if made from the right materials) can be re-used.

Personally I do not like sharing cutlery unless it is unavoidable. I don't believe the plastic forks used are made from the right materials to be re-used and should be thrown away after single use.

 

[blueflamenco]

I don't see the big deal over this. Its cutlery. I'm sure there are less germs on the plastic cutlery Qantas uses than there are germs on cutlery at a dining table in a restaurant or at your friends house.

If you were talking about a plastic scalpel being reused maybe the concerns would be justified.

 

[ArseneV]

Personally I do not like sharing cutlery unless it is unavoidable. I don't believe the plastic forks used are made from the right materials to be re-used and should be thrown away after single use.

I would be more worried about the recycled water being used than the cutlery!

Do some research.

 

[JohnK]

I don't see the big deal over this. Its cutlery. I'm sure there are less germs on the plastic cutlery Qantas uses than there are germs on cutlery at a dining table in a restaurant or at your friends house.

Do you know who cleans the cutlery? Do you where they are located? Have you inspected their facilities, procedures and general conditions of the site?

Excuse me for being concerned. I am glad most people have faith in humanity (or more likely corporations) to do the right thing. After all we have never had hygienic issues anywhere.

Do airlines do this to save money? Perhaps it is time for me to purchase some plastic forks from Woolworths and carry a few with me to use on flights with plastic cutlery.

 

[Archphoto]

Do you know who cleans the cutlery? Do you where they are located? Have you inspected their facilities, procedures and general conditions of the site?

Excuse me for being concerned. I am glad most people have faith in humanity (or more likely corporations) to do the right thing. After all we have never had hygienic issues anywhere.

Do airlines do this to save money? Perhaps it is time for me to purchase some plastic forks from Woolworths and carry a few with me to use on flights with plastic cutlery.

I took it that they were being cleaned at Qantas' Mascot Catering Service; I'd assume it is the same place they clean their metal cutlery.

Perhaps they are doing to save money - most probably that *is* the driving force behind it, but look at their figures for domestic use - 50000 people/day (350,000 sets of plastic cutlery a week!) - that's an awful lot of landfill.

If the metal cutlery is being cleaned alongside the plastic stuff - why should it be any different.

Living in Asia, you get used to drinking out of plastic cups for your water at roadside stalls, eating with plastic chopsticks et al; they *don't* recycle their wooden ones, but the rest is washed up and used by the next customer.

To be honest, I'm more concerned with the food that is served up - would bet we are more likely to fall ill from the food they are serving up, rather than the cutlery.

 

[anat0l]

Do you know who cleans the cutlery? Do you where they are located? Have you inspected their facilities, procedures and general conditions of the site?

Do you know who cleans QF's planes? Have you seen it in action? Have you sampled many cabin environments (the air, the carpets, the seats, the surfaces, scraped dust samples, checked the A/C system internals) and performed lab tests to ensure your health isn't compromised when flying with QF? No? So why do you keep flying them? For the same reason that we continue using their plastic cutlery.

Excuse me for being concerned.

That's a very different tone to your earlier post which states:

Very sad.

Metal cutlery is meant to be re-used. Plastic cutlery should be thrown away.

...which is a lot more dismissively negative about the issue.

Trying to compare reusing the plastic cutlery/meal container/tea cup to reusing a styrofoam cup is flawed. Clearly, the latter is more easily punctured and destructible than the QF plasticware. Styrofoam is also more porous and thus has more potential to trap unwanted media.

Do airlines do this to save money?

They probably do; not to mention a probably lower life cycle environmental impact (but I'm adamant they would never think of the latter). Plus, plastic is lighter than metal.

Perhaps it is time for me to purchase some plastic forks from Woolworths and carry a few with me to use on flights with plastic cutlery.

Well, as it stands, you'd be a hypocrite if you didn't do that and continued to use QF's supplied Y cutlery. Good luck getting a plastic knife on board.

 

[oz_mark]

Personally I do not like sharing cutlery unless it is unavoidable. I don't believe the plastic forks used are made from the right materials to be re-used and should be thrown away after single use.

Reading the article, it seems that domestically they are not re-used.

 

[JohnK]

Apologies if I am offending anyone but I am (extremely) concerned and there is nothing anyone can say to change it. There is a reason "plastic" cutlery is called disposable. Or maybe I am just plain stupid.

Living in Asia, you get used to drinking out of plastic cups for your water at roadside stalls, eating with plastic chopsticks et al; they *don't* recycle their wooden ones, but the rest is washed up and used by the next customer.

Actually I have witnessed first hand the cleaning practices in Asia. You soon feel sick when you see them rinse plate after plate in 2 troughs full of tap water.

I mainly drink everything from a can or bottle including beer, water and soft drink. Occasionally I drink draft beer or a spirit mix. With food you take your chances and I have been sick 2-3 times in the past 7 years.

Well, as it stands, you'd be a hypocrite if you didn't do that and continued to use QF's supplied Y cutlery. Good luck getting a plastic knife on board.

Don't need a knife. I am not a knife and fork person. I can eat anything they serve on an airline (in economy) with a fork only including spreading butter and solid deserts.

Reading the article, it seems that domestically they are not re-used.

Not yet anyway.

 

[Archphoto]

Apologies if I am offending anyone but I am (extremely) concerned and there is nothing anyone can say to change it. There is a reason "plastic" cutlery is called disposable. Or maybe I am just plain stupid.


Actually I have witnessed first hand the cleaning practices in Asia. You soon feel sick when you see them rinse plate after plate in 2 troughs full of tap water.

I mainly drink everything from a can or bottle including beer, water and soft drink. Occasionally I drink draft beer or a spirit mix. With food you take your chances and I have been sick 2-3 times in the past 7 years.


Don't need a knife. I am not a knife and fork person. I can eat anything they serve on an airline (in economy) with a fork only including spreading butter and solid deserts.


Not yet anyway.

Hi John,

You are not offending me in the least, and have every right to voice your opinion regarding this topic.

And yes in some parts of Asia, I must admit I wouldn't be caught dead eating off some of their plates; I was commenting on my living in Bangkok and how they serve you here.

One comment to your remarks about drinking from cans and bottles - when I first arrived I happily cracked a Singha beer and was about to drink from the can when my Thai PA told me to stop and use a straw.

When I asked why, her response to this was that they can't be certain how the cans/bottles have been stored and it was highly probable that rats had happily crawled over them whilst in storage!:shock:

Tap water here is safe to drink, although most drink bottled water, and the only time I have been violently ill was after drinking one can of beer - and no, I didn't use a straw on that occasion. :mrgreen:

 

[anat0l]

Reading the article, it seems that domestically they are not re-used.

It is not explicitly mentioned, but there would be no reason on the premise of current practice.

Apologies if I am offending anyone but I am (extremely) concerned and there is nothing anyone can say to change it. There is a reason "plastic" cutlery is called disposable. Or maybe I am just plain stupid.

Well then we'll just have to call it there. If you are so concerned, you do what you have to in order to feel less concerned.

"Plastic" is not a synonym for "disposable"; "plastic cutlery" is not an automatic synonym for "disposable cutlery". It's called plastic cutlery because that is the material of which the cutlery is made of!

The only thing I would be weary of - if I had to be - would be the leaching of any compounds from the plastic that could be carcinogenic (as a result of heating / washing processes). Looks like we need a scientific study to verify any claims that washing and reusing plastic cutlery is harmful to your health.


And lo and behold the media are obviously not happy with having made a mountain from a molehill - they want Everest! In this case, it is NZ which is additionally taking the heat.

Airlines reusing plastic cutlery up to 10 times | NATIONAL News

 

[blueflamenco]

Do you know who cleans the cutlery? Do you where they are located? Have you inspected their facilities, procedures and general conditions of the site?

Excuse me for being concerned. I am glad most people have faith in humanity (or more likely corporations) to do the right thing. After all we have never had hygienic issues anywhere.

Do airlines do this to save money? Perhaps it is time for me to purchase some plastic forks from Woolworths and carry a few with me to use on flights with plastic cutlery.

I could say a lot more here but the gist of it can be expressed in two words - let go.