Emirates has revealed that it recycled more than 500,000kg of plastic and glass during 2022, weighing nearly as much as its flagship A380 aircraft when fully loaded. The recyclables were collected as part of its onboard glass and plastic recycling initiative launched in 2019, which collects discarded bottles for repurposing.
Emirates cabin crews collect and separate plastic and glass bottles to be sent to a recycling plant in Dubai. The glass is crushed and re-melted to be sent to glass manufacturers in the UAE to be made into new bottles, while plastic bottles are cleaned, chopped into flakes, melted into pellets and sent to manufacturers to be repurposed into new products.
The recycling initiative efforts by Emirates and Emirates Flight Catering divert thousands of kilograms of glass and plastic away from landfill each year.
Other Emirates recycling and sustainability initiatives include blankets made from 28 recycled plastic bottles, preventing more than 95 million plastic bottles from going to landfill and reducing energy emissions by approximately 70% over the last six years; prioritizing responsible sourcing of materials; using recycled plastics and sustainably sourced materials for the airline’s children’s toy bags, baby amenity kits and plush toys, saving eight million plastic bottles from landfill; as well as the airline’s reusable onboard amenity kits for its Premium Economy and Economy classes, which include durable travel essentials made from environmentally friendly materials.
