Boeing works with industry towards 90-95% aircraft recycling by 2016
With commercial aviation contributing around 2% of the global man-made carbon footprint, recycling is an area where the aviation industry is finding ways of reducing its impact on the environment. Boeing has a long tradition of reducing and recycling waste and using less energy intensive materials during the manufacturing process. Looking at the end of an aircraft’s service life, dismantling and recycling allows numerous high-value materials to be returned to service as well as re-use of recycled materials such as carbon fibres. With its industry partners in the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA), Boeing aims to increase the amount of aircraft recycled material from 70 percent today to upwards of 90% by 2016.
Boeing is working with AFRA member companies to enhance knowledge and technologies to allow reuse of recycled manufacturing materials as well as commercially recycle carbon fibre composite manufacturing waste. To this end, Boeing and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy have already shipped 787 composite fuselage manufacturing waste to Recycled Carbon Fibre Ltd, a Coseley based business, to recycle and commercially process the carbon fibre. In collaboration with RCF and US-based Materials Innovation Technologies, Inc Boeing has produced a proof of concept moulded armrest using recycled carbon fibre from a 787 pre-production structure. Boeing continues to work with these and other industry partners to research other on-board applications for recycled composites.
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