How Green Is Your Airline?

It's true: Flying is really bad for your carbon footprint. But let's be realistic: You're not going to stop flying altogether. What you can do is choose your carrier wisely. Because in the key areas of recycling and fuel efficiency, all airlines are not created equal:

Recycling

A new report by Green America confirms what you may have suspected all along: Not a single airline is fully up to snuff with its recycling. Overall, while nearly 75 percent of in-flight generated waste is recyclable, only about 20 percent is recycled, making for nearly 250 million tons of unnecessary waste.

That said, some airlines are doing a better job than others. The highest-ranking airlines (which were still graded a lackluster B-) were Delta and Virgin, and Southwest also did well. Delta has long been a leader in recycling: It was the first airline to launch a comprehensive waste-reduction program nearly three years ago. Virgin has eliminated waste by getting rid of in-flight magazines. And Southwest has a co-mingling recycling program to divert more recyclable materials from landfills.

Meanwhile, British Airways—despite its current grade of D—has said it will send zero waste to U.K. landfills by the end of this year.

The absolute worst? U.S. Airways and United, which received flat-out Fs and have made no major announcements to indicate change.

Fuel Efficiency

The biggest eco-hazard of flying is, of course, the fuel that's used. According to environmentalists, it generates up to 13 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Several airlines have accordingly taken important steps toward reducing their fuel impact—including the three highest scorers for recycling.

Virgin Atlantic recently purchased the largest order of one of the industry's most fuel-efficient planes, the Boeing Dreamliner. Southwest has spent more than any other North American airline to retrofit its fleet to reduce carbon emissions. And last month, Delta announced an ambitious plan to upgrade its existing aircraft with such features as winglets, stabilizing fins that curb C02 emissions by as much as 5 percent.

Meanwhile, British Airways has announced a plan to use excess animal manure as fuel. The airline plans to begin using the fuel by 2014; it could cut emissions in half by 2050.

On this front, too, the laggards are U.S. Airways and United. Despite some limited efforts to change, the recycling flunkers were also ranked dead last by Greenopia in a recent survey of "greenest" airlines, in part due to their older fleets and fuel inefficiency.

Of course, it's not just up to the airlines to curb the eco-hazards of flying. Passengers, too, have a responsibility to be conscientious. Green America suggests passengers ask their flight attendants about the recycling options on board, and a recent Guardian article suggested that flying coach over business or first class can result in surprisingly significant eco-savings.

But the most important thing is to book flights carefully, because some airlines are making much more serious efforts to prune their impacts than others.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons