I have had a few questions recently from people wondering about recycling waste from food services on board flights. I know a huge number of airlines have very active on board recycling programmes, I know lots of airports worldwide have in-terminal programmes (some very innovative, as demonstrated by the Seattle Tacoma Airport video below), but there has not been a global study done to show the extent of recycling in the aviation industry. What I do know is that we can certainly do more of it.

The National Resources Defense Council released a report in 2006 about how airlines and airports in the USA produce enough aluminium can (or should that be aloominum?) rubbish to build 58 Boeing 747's and that there was a major need to step up recycling programmes. Since then, the industry has really taken up the challenge and done some amazing work to introduce on-board recycling programmes. When I flew Continental Airlines last month, the cabin crew were certainly seperating the cardboard boxes from the plastic cups. In fact, over the last three years, the guys at Continental tell me the airline has recycled over 7.5 million kilos.

There are a few issues with recycling from aircraft. Firstly, for international flights, a lot of governments have laws which demand that all food waste (and items contaminated with food) get either washed at heat or destroyed. This is due to quarantine issues and bringing food into a country. Therefore, normal plastic knives, forks and cups can't be washed and returned to service. And the issue with using metal and glass is weight - airlines must choose between having recyclable cutlery which weighs less and uses less fuel, or heavier washable utensils which use more fuel. Which part of the environment do they want to save today?!

There is some innovation in this area, you'll be pleased to know. Some airlines are starting to design and use very lightweight metal cutlery. And in today's news we learn of a new type of plastic cutlery which can also be washed and returned to service. Qantas Airways says it can reuse the cutlery at least three times. Air New Zealand also uses 'commercial grade rotable products' - long-lasting plastic bowls and cups to you and I - that can be re-used up to 10 times.

- Image from Flickr user Lizjones112

This Wednesday, representatives from airports across the U.S. came together for a ‘Green Airports’ seminar, hosted by South Carolina’s  Department of Health and Environmental Control and launched under the Green Airports Initiative. The seminar educated airports on how they can become more environmentally friendly and reduce their operating costs through the promotion of alternative fuels, recycling initiatives and energy efficiency.

Dallas/Fort Worth International made a timely demonstration of how airports can make an impact in this way by moving up the rankings on the American EPA Top 20 Local Government list of large green power purchasers. The airport was recognised by the EPA for its commitment to protecting the environment by proactively choosing to switch away from traditional sources of electricity generation and support cleaner renewable energy alternatives. The airport currently purchases 60 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 20% of the airport's electricity use, and resulting in significant savings both in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Alice Springs Airport in Australia has launched their own energy project, with works underway building a solar power station. The power station will deliver approximately 600 megawatt hours of electricity directly to the airport's internal electricity grid, making up roughly 28% of the airport's electricity demand and reducing the airport's carbon emissions by around 470 ton of CO2 per year.

Elsewhere, South America’s TAM Airlines has been busy preparing for non-commercial demonstration flight later this year, marking the continent’s progress in biofuel development. The flight will take place on an Airbus A320 equipped with CFM56-5B engines and will run on a mixture of aviation biofuel produced using jatropha oil. According to research from Michigan Technological University, a flight of this kind can achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of between 65 and 80% compared to petroleum-derived jet fuel.

The field of aircraft recycling has really started to grow. It used to be talked of in terms of 'scrapping' aircraft once they had reached the end of their useful service life (often 20-30 years). Now, it is estimated that over 95% of a plane can be recycled, whether that be for spare parts or indeed melted down for use in other areas. In fact, manufacturers of aircraft like Airbus and Boeing are now designing aircraft not just with a safe and long life in mind, but how compatible they will be to recycling once their flying days are over.

The members of AFRA are currently able to recycle around 150 aircraft each year and, as more aircraft get replaced with newer, more efficient models, that number is set to increase. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 6,000 aircraft may retire over the next couple of decades.

As this film from the National Geographic Channel explores, recycling an aircraft can take much more planning than recycling your newspapers!

The first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took place yesterday. The event was webcasted for the whole world to watch via a feed Boeing provided on their website. They had set up seven cameras around Paine Field in Everett, Washington to record the maiden flight, which is still available to watch on-demand.
 

One thing that we don’t talk about much on enviro.aero is all the hidden, back-office work being done by companies in the aviation industry to ensure their operations are green. Most of the focus is inevitably on making flights fuel efficient, having energy efficient airport terminals and the use of innovations like biofuels.

But as I was reminded by a post on Airplanes.com today, a lot of companies across the industry are also doing their own housekeeping; with office recycling programmes taking place at airlines, airports committing to only get energy from renewable sources and lots of companies in the industry implementing staff carpooling schemes. Indeed, all of the airline, airport and other staff that work here at Geneva Airport get discounted public transport tickets to encourage us to catch the train to work.

Well known for having the largest building in the world at its manufacturing plant in Seattle (picture above), Boeing has made the following commitment: “by 2012 at its major manufacturing facilities, Boeing targets 25 percent improvement goals for solid waste recycling rates, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions intensity, and a comparable goal for hazardous waste reduction. Boeing has also committed to extend certification to the internationally recognized ISO 14001 environmental management system standard to 100 percent of its major manufacturing sites by the end of 2008.”

Aside from being the world’s first carbon neutral airline, the Costa Rican regional airline Natureair (which actually says it is more of a ‘travel company with wings’…) has implemented a number of company-wide projects to reduce its environmental footprint, including putting on a staff bus so that pilots, cabin crew and office teams don’t have to use their cars to get to the airport.

Of course, many of these programmes are also taking place in companies outside of the aviation industry. Indeed, all companies in every sector should be undertaking environmental reviews to ensure that, aside from their products and services, their own house is in order. Even if that house is a massive aircraft production line facility.

- Photo by Tim Stake (Boeing photographer)

Recycling can take many forms, both process-driven - and creative.

On enviro.aero, we are highlighting the ways in which the aviation industry is using technology and operational procedures to get better use out of aircraft while they are in service. There is also a lot of work being done by a number of players to work out how we can get the best use from planes once their flying days are up.

I really like this video which shows, in high speed, how recycling an aircraft is done properly.

It is estimated that something like 95% of an airliner is able to be salvaged and used again for a variety of purposes. But there are less... destructive... ways of recycling the workhorses of the aviation industry.

When I was growing up in rural New Zealand, one of the highlights of a family trip to the 'big city' of Auckland was stopping off at a converted DC3 that had been turned into a tea-rooms and tourist attraction for the small village of Mangaweka...

But I have just heard that Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios has gone one step further - he is opening a hostel in a retired 747-200. 

I know where I am staying when I am in Stockholm next!

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