Do your airlines recycle?
 

While taking out my recycling today I thought about the amout of things I was recycling and therefore keeping out of landfills to be re-used again. I realized that between my girlfriend and I we recycle about four grocery bags a month, and throw one trash can of garbage out. Then I began to wonder about how much this really equals in the big picture? Just a drop in the ocean, but a drop none the less. It made me wonder how my airline does, and what type of citizen they are in their community. I don't think my airline really recycles anything at all. I think about all of the paper from our releases, cans from passengers drinks and water bottles that we go through in a single flight and realized that all of that is ending up in a landfill somewhere.
Many people probably just write this off as tree-hugging BS, but in fact one day if we continue at our current rate the landfills will be overfilling into your backyards. It seems as easy and simply separating recycling from trash and having a little more responsibility for the community and enviroment that we must all live in.
So, I must ask, do any of your airlines recycle?

DL does or did on flights TO ATL

http://inspirationinc.typepad.com/ph...hurch_lady.jpg

Well, isn't that special?


On a serious note, I know when I worked at Comair the flight attendants made a half-hearted attempt at it. Some stations would just throw the cans in the trash anyway.

Mesa in Denver we recycle cans/etc. Then we used the proceeds to fund a BBQ day for the crews. Was delicious.

I watched a news story on TV a few years ago about some airports that recycle and make a few hundred thousand a year off of it.

While making money off the programs gets people involved, I think it is more important that we all simply choose to do the right and responsible thing. We shouldn't have to pay people to be good members of society, but if thats what it takes at first, it may be worth it.

As said previously, some Comair FAs recycle the cans which DGS throws who-knows-where.

Comair also recycles tired old Delta/NW executives by implementing the unique "Run Comair for a year" program.

Comair is currently leading the way in whole-aircraft recycling by sending a large percentage our aircraft to other Delta regionals.

In conjunction with Delta's new eco-friendly "ComairGreen Initiative", many of the aircraft Comair still has on property are involved in the "It burns less fuel when it's sitting still" Jet-A conservation program.

But best of all, Comair has started a fantastic new recycling program designed to save Gigawatts of electricity (sim time) and thousands of pounds of paper (training manuals)...

The new program allows Comair to fill First Officer positions with already-trained Comair Captains rather than having to hire and train low-time pilots off the street.

It's the green thing to do.

I think it depends on the airport/city. If the airport has recycling, our F/A's had to seperate. Believe it or not, there are still places in the U.S. that do not have a recycling program.

I don't think any airlines own their own catering anymore - so the question is:

Do flight kitchen contractors (the guys who haul the trash off the airplanes) have a recycling program? As far as airlines flight operations goes, I see the blue paper recycle bins everywhere.

Eagle does not...at least not that I've ever seen. It drives me absolutely insane. Sometimes I hold on to newspaper and cans and drop them in recycling bins at the various airports.

I, like you, ebl14, recycle a ton of stuff and make very little in the way of trash. So its hard for me to see aluminum get thrown away.

I saw a report a few years back that said the airlines throw away enough aluminum cans to make several 747's a year. I can't remember the exact number they cited - more than 5 less than 20.

The airlines should carry 2 liter bottles or get soda fountains. Or better yet, just offer water and coffee. I can personally go 2 hours without Pepsi or Ginger Ale and not die. I imagine the majority of the population could do the same.

Good post man! I sometimes feel like people think I'm weird when I tell the F/A's and Captain that I recycle so save all the paper, news papers, magazines etc.. Then when I get off the airplane with a bag full of paper I get an even more weird stare from the incoming crews. I tell them I'm doing it for their kids (I have none and probably never will). Rather than thinking "well he is a pretty clean guy, he got this far so he has to be somewhat smart, he is probably just recycling the paper" their first thought is I must have a trash fetish. I mean c'mon you don't have to be a forensic scientist to figure it out.

Just about every airport has paper recycling centers in the terminal so it's easy to just drop off on the way out. ATL has big ones right at the top of all the escalators which most people probably have never even noticed. I would say that 90% of the stuff we could throw away on our flights can be recycled. And most of it is paper. I'm just trying to do the right thing so that someone down the line doesn't have to suffer from our carelessness.

Now that's hilarious... your presentation I mean, not the fact that it's all true

Slightly off topic, but here is a good read on how the world is just nibbling around the edges of the whole environmental movement. It's a noble effort to be sure, but as a planet we're a long way from the tipping point.

Amazon.com: Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution: Auden Schendler: Books

Here's another one that shed's some light on the whole SUV thing

Amazon.com: High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV: Keith Bradsher: Books

Both books can be had used for less than a buck at Amazon

Boomer, you kill me! And for Pontius...we live in a Starbucks world! Now if you charge the people like Airways did...well :)

Cans are metal, and thus are worth a certain amount of money. When they are essentially "sold" to the recycling companies, those companies are getting a good deal so they can re-sell that metal. Nothing wrong with making money in this world for doing something good.

Landfill capacity is a non-issue . . there's plenty of space. Any serious look at this issue (there's been plenty) will tell you this.

Efficient use of finite resources is a more serious proposition. Markets are sorting this out to some extent. Many things are just cheaper and less energy intensive to throw away and build anew. Other things (like copper, for example), make sense to recycle.

Environmentalism is the newest crazy religion. If you really subscribe to it, and you probably do, then you need to stop flying immediately. Anthropogenic climate change believers who finger "carbon emissions" have no business burning HUGE quantities of fuel and dumping massive amounts of carbon into the air. If this is your belief, then your job is directly contributing to the eventual death and displacement of tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people.

How can you sleep at night?

What a joke. You're saying people are not good members of society unless they recycle? Let me guess, you've bought into "global warming"?

Personally, I toss everything in the garbage, it is just much easier that way. To recycle means I have to do two things: first, sort it out and second, take it to a recycling center. Not going to happen.

Now, if you want to recycle and "save the planet" then go right ahead. But don't try to shove your environmentalism down my throat.

They won't because environmentalists are also hypocrites.

ive only put 250 tons into the air this year on the ERJ, a large widebody could do that in a flight

I'm not shoving anything down anyones throat, just asking a simple question about other airlines policies. I'm sorry that having an extra can and seperating your waste seems like a frivilous exercise to you. I'm not mad at you, I just think you are uninformed. I think you are mad at me, or maybe just a little guilty for your laziness. I used to not care about any of this kind of stuff either, until some of my reading educated me about the current state and rate of decline of our environment.

And you are right, flying airplanes leaves a huge carbon footprint that isn't likely to go away anytime soon. But high fuel prices are forcing more full planes and less flights a day as well as more fuel efficient aircraft. I think, since we put so many carbons in the air we should try a little harder than most to at least control where our waste goes, as well as our carbon footprint outside of work.

Quite the contrary, I'm very well informed.

I'm actually quite content in my laziness. :D

Environmentalism = Agenda. If you scare people into thinking the earth is in peril due to man, then you are able to control lives and earn money through things such as movies, books, and taxes.

Science tells us the earth is fine. The scientists who hold to a leftist-environmental agenda are telling us something completely different. The ability to accurately differentiate between the two is directly proportional to the level of education the person holds on this subject.

No,no, and no, I'm not mad at you. :)

Bring those cans to michigan... 10 cents a can...

With gas at $1.88/gallon, they would have to offer much more than a dime per can to make the trip worth it. :D

On a serious note, it wouldn't be a bad idea to donate the cans to a place such as a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. The refunds they receive from the cans would help their cause.

i remember working on the ramp in DTW for Mesaba there was a few ramp agents would stay almost 4 hrs extra on the night shifts collecting cans from the trash dumpsters (yea they were dumpster diving for the most part) collecting cans from the 747s. They would collect at times 5 to 10 garbage bags full of cans and would turn them in. Was told that Mesaba nor NW or any of the other airlines at DTW really cared since they "put them in the trash" so they had the right to collect them. They claimed they made upwards of 5000 a month just on cans (from what I remember). Could only imagine what a major airline and all the cans they go thru how much "extra income" they could produce from recycling those cans.

The only thing my airline recycles are BS contract proposals...

There is an even larger agenda to keep people from believing that thier actions are destroying the planet. There are many corperations who don't want you to think that we are destructive in our actions. They have you convinced that you cannot harm the planet. Yes, it does take effeort to do things like recycle and drive less, but tell me who is going to gain from that? I'll tell you, we all will. Instead of labeling a point a veiw from the right or left, why don't we try to take in the information and use our own brains to figure out how to interpret it, instead of pre-judging information based on what biased people have to say. We won't destroy the planet if we continue on this way, but we will destroy a sustainable place for human beings to survive.

Actually, I have me convinced that I cannot harm the planet. I've made up my own mind on the subject based on scientific evidence as opposed to what the environmentalists want me to hear. The verdict: man cannot destroy nor save the planet - it is what it is.

Reference my above response. Also, review my earlier post where I said knowing the difference between what real science is saying versus what agenda-driven scientists want people to believe is the level of education of the individual. In essence, I have heeded your advice many times over and the conclusions are identical: the earth is fine. And the "biased people" I have boldfaced in your quote are the agenda-driven environmentalists who guise themselves as scientists.

I don't know you so I obviously am not directing this next comment at you. But, I do personally know several people who hold this exact position with regards to the planet. In one simple word, they are scared. They live their lives constantly worrying about the planet and busying themselves with ways to further "help it along". That's a lot of energy being expended into what I see as a not-worthwhile cause.

Contrast that with my attitude. Life is short, the planet is fine, so enjoy yourself and worry not. :)

You are right, the planet is fine. The planet is a hunk of rock and molten rock surrounded by an atmosphere made up mostly of nitrogen, then oxygen, hurling through our solar system. You are right, we will not destory the planet. But we may make the planet less habitable, more comparable to venus or mars. The issue isn't about you or me, we will not see sufficent degradation of our habitat (if we are lucky). The issue is about our children and espicially their children. Going back to my origional post, you and I as individuals can only do so much, but the companies that we work for can do much more than any one person. I, for one, understand that there will be some who are set in their ways (like you), who refuse to acknowledge numerous studies that indicate our human effect on the environment. That is fine, those of us who are progressive thinkers and who care about the world we leave to our children will push on in spite of those with your viewpoint. And we will try to make the corperations that we work for be good citizens of planet earth as well.

Wow! Did you come up with this lovely point of view all on your own or did Rush Limbaugh give it to you?

Man cannot destroy the planet? Apparently you need a lesson in nuclear fission my friend.

As a "progressive thinker" you might want to consider taking a spelling course. It is corporation, not corperation.

Do recycled pilot's count ?:D
Fred

Bull Feces. You're laying it all on the pilots but aren't considering that we wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for the payload. Technically, it's the customers' carbon footprint. Any participation in society as a consumer has an overall impact on the environment and it is up to each one of us to minimize our impact through our individual conduct as well as through our vote. Being a professional pilot is not in contradiction to being environmentally conscious. It's a job and our infrastructure demands air travel.

Yes, airplane carbon emissions are substantial. However, it is more efficient to fly 300 people from coast to coast than to divide those people in enough Ford Explorers to make the trip

Rough estimate of fuel burned by a 767-300 (configured for 270 pax) on a transcon;
80,000 lbs /6.72 = 11905 gallons.

Enough Ford Explorers to carry 270 people/roughly 4 per vehicle = 68
Approximate hwy mileage on a Ford Explorer 16 (considering stops, the actual average would be much lower so 16 mpg is liberal estimate in your favor)

New York to Los Angeles road miles 2800
2800/16mpg = 175 gallons X 68 Explorers = 11900 gallons

TOTAL GALLONS OF FUEL
By Explorer 11900
By 767 11905

One must also factor in the impact of multi day travel.
40 hours of driving/ 8 hours per day = 5 days
transcon in a 767, less than 5 hours

Also, I believe that Jet A burns cleaner than gasoline

I sleep fine at night.

where Styrofoam plates and cups, and plastic forks were used..then thrown away..to mingle in landfills for the next...ooooh...4000 years :)

If this is what's left of your argument, I'll claim victory now. :D

All jokes aside, nobody is a winner and nobody is a loser. The world will be a better place if all of us are well informed. Will some still choose a destructive course, you can bet on it. But overall, given all the information I think human kind likes living. And most people want to leave a nice place to live for future generations as well.

So the rest of the population gets coffee/water in a plastic cup which then gets thrown away (or best case scenario, recycled) anyway? What is gained by this solution? This is where the problem comes in with the envioronmental agenda. Restrictions are forcefully imposed on everyone that don't solve the actual problem anyway. We recycle more now than ever in this country, and I hope we can continue to make reasonable progress via curbside programs, etc. Yet we've never heard more about how horribly we are treating our planet. I don't get it. There's obviously a larger goal in mind here, and I don't want to even speculate what it actually is.

As a side note I was actually thinking of this exact issue on my commute the other day and wondered when we'd start seeing can crushers in the galleys, so that they could be put in a separate bin/bag to be recycled. Good thread.

That's just me exercising a dry sense of humor. ;)

A mind is a terrible thing to waste:
 

I hate to see another intelligent pilot sucked in by the save-the-planet-from-global-warming hysteria. Do a little research and you'll learn that the "science" behind this theory doesn't hold water. The whole movement is nothing more than a hoax based on easily manipulated computer models. Two facts for you: 1) The earth has been cooling and winters have been colder for the last few years, and 2) Green icons such as Al Gore and Richard Branson exempt themselves from the onerous regulations they want you to live by. Gore left the lights on all night during "earth hour" last week and flies around the world in a private jet preaching this nonsense, offsetting his "sin" buy buying "carbon credits" from his own company. Branson owns two private islands in the Carribean and a fleet of carbon belching airliners. What hypocrisy!

Please, go fly your jet, enjoy life, and stop worrying about this BS.

Q: Does your airline recycle?

A: Who cares? It's garbage. I put it in a plastic bag, and I stop thinking about it.

When did I ever mention Al Gore or Richard Branson? What hysteria? All I asked is whether or not your airlines recycle. Why do so many people take offense to this question and attack me cause I must be some crazy leftist brainwashed poor soul. So I think its a good idea to re-use the natural resources we take from the earth, why does this have to come with an agenda? Can't I just choose to be a better patron of our environment without having someone like you tell me about my "agenda".

So how would you have me use my mind otherwise? Should I go out and try to figure out how I can make as much money as possible, no matter how much harm it does to anyone and everyone around me? If I am wasting my mind by thinking about my own effect on our environment what would you think would be a valuble use of brainpower? Since when has being a considerate human, thinking about people other than himself a waste. You ought to save up all that hate you have for something more important to the world, like hating the corporations that pay thier workers $1.40 a day to make your Nikes and sell them to you for $90. Think about that a minute before you start hating the way I have wasted my mind.

That's the key. Hate. We need to hate companies and people. Especially when they make money. Good idea. I'm ready for a thread lock on this one.