Madam, - Recently I have been closely observing the ways in which in-flight waste is treated by many airlines operating to Dublin. Interestingly, the practice varies greatly from airline to airline within Europe.
I particularly enjoy supporting Aer Lingus. The crews are polite and always alert. However, on a recent Rome-Dublin Aer Lingus flight, I was surprised to learn that glass wine bottles served in flight are not recycled. The in-flight attendant, visibly embarrassed, explained to me it was quite simply a "cost issue".
On a recent flight from Dublin to Helsinki, on that excellent airline Finnair, I observed that the in-flight crew collected glass wine bottles in a separate container. Having lived some years ago in Finland this was no surprise. Ireland and Finland are two stunningly beautiful countries which are comparable in many ways. There is, however, a fundamental difference when it comes to protecting nature and the environment.
In today's fast moving, hi-tech world, where Ireland is a champion, one would expect our national airline to avail of this technology to dispose of waste in a responsible and cost-efficient manner. After all, every household in Ireland, at a cost, recycles waste. Surely it cannot be too much of a problem for the local authority to collect glass bottles from all flights arriving to and departing from Irish airports. It cannot be rocket science. - Yours, etc,
DECLAN MEAGHER, Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.