Forget the war over mini shampoo bottles in hotels, and the move away from plastic straws. One flight attendant on a recently flight was discussing in the galley that she now brings her own metal straw with her wherever she goes, because the plastic straws in airports are useless.

Pakistan has taken a step farther than the rest of the world in the War on Plastic. Airlines flying to Pakstian are no longer allowed to use plastic cutlery inflight.

What’s more, when airlines replace plastic forks, spoons, and knives with some other material they’ve also been directed that they cannot transport cutlery in plastic sacks either and must instead wrap them in paper.

The instruction went out to 18 different airlines. China Southern responded asking about the legal basis for this order. A new regulation under the Environ­mental Protection Act 1997 bans “polythene bags in the federal capital.” It’s not clear what regulation bans plastic cutlery on international flights. However as far as the government of Pakistan is concerned, with respect to the 17 airlines that haven’t inquired about the legal justification, silence is consent.

Only China Southern Airlines has asked from us that under which law should it stop the use of plastic cutlery and we have given them a reply. Other airlines have not asked about it which means they have no objection to it. We hope that the decision of the Aviation Division would be implemented shortly,

Boeing 777 on Approach to New York JFK in 2014, Copyright zhukovsky / 123RF Stock Photo

The country’s national airline is best known for sacrificing a goat for safety and flying with more passengers than seats (and making customers stand for 1700 miles). Employee protests have turned violent in clashes with police involving rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas.

Pakistan’s Aviation Division, though, is focused on the plastic cutlery passengers use when they’re given meals in economy.