Air101: Lufthansa and Fraport recycle up to 4 million PET bottles annually

18 February, 2022

Lufthansa and Fraport recycle up to 4 million PET bottles annually

Fraport AG and Lufthansa Optimize Recyclable Material Cycle

“Closed Loop" recycling project implemented in just a few months

In a move that is making a sustainable contribution to climate and environmental protection, Fraport and Lufthansa have teamed up to transfer recyclable PET bottles directly from the aircraft into a sustainable and closed recycling loop. Frankfurt Airport is the first airport in Europe involved with this process. PET (polyethene terephthalate) is the name of a clear, strong, lightweight and 100% recyclable plastic. Lufthansa and Fraport, together with Hassia Mineralquellen, a company that markets some of the finest mineral waters of Germany, intensely tested a closed loop recycling project in late 2021 and upon a successful completion, immediately transferred it to regular operation in Frankfurt.

Bottles are 100 percent recycled

Around 60 percent of the waste weight from an aircraft is accounted for by returned PET bottles and their contents. These bottles are collected separately, after landing, and handed over to Hassia Mineralquellen, which integrates the bottles into its own recycling process. The recovered PET granulate is then used to make new bottle blanks, which are filled with beverages again. This means that the collected PET bottles are 100 percent recycled.

Based on Lufthansa's current air traffic volume, it is expected that around four million PET bottles weighing 72 tons can be collected this year alone. Based on flight movements and the load factor for 2019, the project partners could collect up to 10 million PET bottles per year in the future.

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Jason Shaw.

Jason Shaw's love of the aviation industry started at a young age when he used to watch the whirlybirds of Bristow Helicopters coming and going from the garden of his Surrey childhood home. Since those days he's worked in a number of key areas within the aviation industry from airlines, travel agents, holiday companies and product selection to reporting on it for local radio and making video travel brochures.

Jason is also an experienced broadcaster, having presented on radio, television, corporate videos and video travel brochures.

He's an avid reader and has also written a number of books, articles, features and reports.

Jason loves to travel, eat cheesecake and his favourite destinations include Port Douglas, Singapore and Copenhagen.

Joshua Jordan.

Josh loves to travel and has a passionate interest in the airline industry. He's worked in both travel and the media for a number of years. His voice can often be heard on Internet-based radio stations as well and the odd commercial! The destination he calls his favourite is - New York.

Adam Shaw

Adam is the youngest member of the team, no relation to Jason and like the rest of the team, he has a keen interest in airlines, aircraft and aviation. His favourite destination is Prague and has just started taking flying lessons.