More than 100 tons of aluminum, steel and titanium : an uncirculated commercial aircraft is a large pile of junk that also contains toxic products, such as kerosene. Therefore, experts are investigating what to do with the 4,000 aircraft that will retire in the next 20 years . Until 2008, the Airbus family developed the PAMELA project, through which 75% of an aircraft was recycled at the French airport in Tarbes. Also on French territory, in Châteauroux, Bartin Aero Recycling pursues the same goal.
The most difficult thing is to find a profitable method, because the cost of recycling – about 50,000 euros – exceeds the benefit of selling the scrap.
