Empty Bladder Saves Gas and CO2 Emissions

All Nippon Airways (ANA) reasons that empty bladders means lighter passengers, which in turn means lighter aircraft and lower fuel use.

The airline will position staff near the boarding gates in terminals to ask passengers waiting for their flight to relieve themselves before boarding the aircraft. It hopes that the weight saved will lead to a five-tonne reduction in carbon emissions over the course of a month.

According to Japan’s NHK television, the airline started the unusual policy on 1 October. Initially intended as an experiment lasting one month and 42 flights, ANA says that it may expand the trial if results are positive and it is well received by passengers.

Flying is the fastest-growing source of carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for more than 600 million tons of the greenhouse gas per year.

A return flight between London Heathrow and New York’s John F Kennedy airport creates approximately 2700lbs (1.35 tons) of CO2 per passenger – more than one-third the yearly emissions of an average person worldwide.

(Tom Chivers - Telegraph.co.uk)