A partnership between United Airlines and a fashion company diverted 900 pounds of trash from landfills in the form of expired life jackets.
According to unified aviation safety regulations, the life jackets under your seat have to be switched out every 8 to 10 years, and while it’s obviously a great thing that they never have to be used, they add up to over 19,000 expired jackets per year just for United’s Boeing 737 fleet.
To save space in landfills and reduce the carbon footprint of the world’s third-largest carrier, United Airlines has partnered with a company called B2L to upcycle the jackets into a trendy, travel-themed collection of bags for laundry, laptops, and the beach as well as backpacks.
“While working to dispose of expired life vests at IAD [Washington Dulles International Airport], I wanted to find a more creative solution to divert this material from landfill,” said Erin Taylor, an environmental affairs manager at United. “Thankfully I was able to connect with a company who upcycles the life vest material (typically thrown away), into fun and practical products.”
B2L or ‘Bag 2 Life’ is a German upcycling company, and the first year’s offerings were met with positive reviews and success, diverting 900 pounds of jackets from landfills, and winning the Germans a contract renewal for a second year at double the volume.
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It takes hundreds and hundreds of years for these life jackets to break apart underground, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas over a very short time, as it decomposes.
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While the bags are eye-catching and go to a good cause, they are steeply priced at well over $100 just for a shoulder bag, and $177.89 just for a small backpack.
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