Flight serves coffee in edible cups to minimise onboard waste production

Wellington: Munching on the cup in which you just drank your coffee doesn't sound too appetising at first but what Air New Zealand has come up with recently might change your mind. The airline has started serving coffee in edible cups on its flights to minimise onboard waste production. It's not the first time the national carrier of New Zealand has experimented with eco-friendly waste management solutions, as in the past it had switched to biodegradable cups on flights and in its lounges.

To go a step further, the airline collaborated with Twiice, a family business based in New Zealand that specialises in making edible cups, reported CNN Travel. The new cups tailor-made for Air New Zealand have been brought out in vanilla flavour and are resistant to melting from warm fluids, such as coffee.

Nikki Chave who is the customer experience manager of the airlines told CNN that around 8 million cups of coffee are served on board Air New Zealand flights each year, and since the launch of this innovative pilot project, the customer feedback for edible cups has so far been positive.

Both Twiice and Air New Zealand are going ahead further to explore new opportunities to expand their partnership. As told by Jamie Cashmore, the co-founder of Twiice, his company is working towards the development of a whole range of edible crockery such as plates and dishes that would eventually be served on the flights of its sky flying partner. The airline is no stranger to going the extra mile to go green, as in this year's July, it ditched single-use plastic containers in favour of small reusable bowls to serve condiments.