This weekend I was chatting with a girlfriend and she mentioned that her son was going to be playing in a ball tournament in San Diego this summer.   There was a cost attached and she was going to make him responsible for part of the fundraising starting with a bottle drive.  It made me think about one of my major pet peeves, the lack of recycling done on airplanes.

It infuriates me when I see the trash bag coming down the aisle and everyone tossing soda cans in with the food garbage.  I’ve often thought how easy it would be to have a bag just for aluminum.

Every three months Americans discard enough aluminum to completely rebuild every single commercial airplane in America!

So, I looked into it a bit further and found out that there have been attempts by some airlines and airports to recycle, but what makes it difficult is that not all destinations have recycling facilities.   If a plane lands in a smaller community without a recycling plant, are they expected to haul the bags of aluminum cans on to the next stop?  What happens then?  Apparently the Airline Transport Association is working on this problem.

Another issue is the fact that it really remains up to the flight attendants to follow through with the programs for them to be successful.   One airline that flies in and out of Phoenix and Columbus, its two hub cities with recycling facilities, donates the funds from the aluminum collected to the United Way and Pegasus, an organization that assists financially needy or sick flight attendants.  What a great incentive for the employees as they’re the ones who’ll benefit. Works for me!  Another major airline donates money from cans to Habitat for Humanity.

In 2004 Americans recycled enough aluminum to make 13 aircraft carriers!

Some of the smaller airlines have left recycling concerns up to the catering companies that service the planes.  Trash is collected at the airport and workers are hired to sort through the bags.   I’m glad it’s being done but wouldn’t it be easier on everyone if the stuff was sorted on board instead?

The aluminum Americans throw away each year is enough to provide the auto industry with all the raw material it needs to build a year’s worth of new cars!

Taking a totally different direction, National Airlines decided to try to do away with cans altogether by developing a ‘soda fountain’ on it’s drink carts.  The syrup and carbonation are stored separately in tanks.  I’m sure it doesn’t taste the same but who really cares when you know you’re saving the environment from more useless waste.

I’d love to know what some of the major and minor airlines are doing in my area regarding recycling.  I imagine that maybe one or two weeks worth of drinks on flights could send a dozen baseball players to a San Diego tournament, perhaps?!  Ya’ never know.  Isn’t it a shame to think so much money is being dumped in our landfills?

And since we’re all concerned about the economy…

In 1996, aluminum manufacturers saved enough energy by recycling aluminum instead of creating it from bauxite ore to power a city the size of Pittsburg for six years!

And what about this one…!

The aluminum in one single soda can is worth about one cent. Americans threw away millions of cans last year.  The American government could pay off a significant portion of its debt with a few years worth of aluminum cans!

What if we were all to email or call our local airport and request info on recycling projects?  If we were to show them it was a big enough concern, eventually something would have to be done, right?  I’m calling WestJet today.  I’ll let you know what they say in a future post.

PS.  Just heard from Wendy from Air Canada and it seems they’ve been recycling for years, but only on flights inside Canada or coming into the country.    Yay,  Air Canada!!!