Aircraft storage, disassembly, and transition services provider, ecube, has set a baseline repeatable process for recycling end-of-life aircraft.

The company and its partners were able to reuse, repurpose and recycle 83% of a British Airways (BA) Airbus A320 through a repeatable and industrialised process.

The project recorded the process of the aircraft from arrival to recycling. ecube, a Unical Group company, said its approach was to weigh the aircraft on landing, document each stage of disassembly, and record parts for potential reuse in the flying fleet.

Furthermore, the ecube project included identifying sections to repurpose for training or memorabilia, logging the recyclable hull materials, and noting the materials that had to go to waste/disposal.

A representative from ecube said: “This has been an enlightening project for all of us at ecube. Historically aircraft recycling projects have been theoretical. They’ve been modelled on what we think is possible, but not actually tested in practice. This project with BA is the first that is industrialised and therefore offers a repeatable baseline.”

A representative from British Airways said: “This project with ecube supports our BA Better World circular economy strategy and has given us a baseline for our aircraft disposals. It has also provided clarity around how much of an aircraft it is possible to reuse, repurpose, or recycle.”

The involvement of companies from different parts of the industry ensured that this was a rigorous and comprehensive investigation. ecube’s method was approved by Beyondly, a B Corp environmental compliance scheme and consultancy.

A representative from Beyondly said: “Beyondly has approved the validity of ecube’s repeatable process. We can confirm the integrity of ecube’s data and method, which has created a process built on real-life results.”

ecube worked to the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association’s (AFRA) best practice guidelines for disassembly.

A representative from AFRA said: “We want to take the findings of this project and use them to promote the circular economy in our industry. The aim is to create a coherent standard to work to.”

Aethos, a company that stimulates sustainable solutions for recycling of aircraft materials, said: “This project has performed a much needed first measurement. The key insight for us is that already 70% of the material can be recycled in line with AFRA’s recyclability rate formula. Our goal is to bring the recycling of aircraft material to a next level. This project has shown what is possible.”

A representative from Unical Aviation said: “This project is a milestone not just for ecube, but for the entire aviation supply chain. At Unical, we rely on high-quality, responsibly sourced USM to keep fleets flying around the world. A repeatable and data-driven process like this helps us – and the industry – ensure that every aircraft reaches its full value potential at end-of-life.”

A representative from ecube concluded: “This is just a start! We want to engage with companies across the aviation industry to see how we can improve upon the 83%. We’d also like to thank the team at British Airways and ecube, along with all our partners who have been involved in this project.”

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