Lufthansa Cargo Implements More Environmentally Friendly Plastic Film

Each year, Lufthansa Cargo requires around 500 tons of plastic film worldwide to protect its cargo during transport. As part of its sustainability strategy, the company has been working for many years to reduce the demand for plastic and to establish a more environmentally friendly approach at the approximately 300 stations around the globe.

(Frankfurt/Main) From mid-September, Lufthansa Cargo will be the first cargo airline to use a new type of film that consists of ten percent recycled plastic and is also one micrometer (one µ) thinner than previous films. This means that approximately two kilograms less film will be used on each cargo flight.

“Plastic waste has become a major global problem for the environment. Therefore, it is particularly important for us to reduce our need for plastic and to use it more resource-efficiently. Our sustainability strategy follows the motto ‘Every Action Counts.’ Every step we can take to make air freight logistics more sustainable is important to us – both in the air and on the ground,” explains Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo AG, regarding the motivation behind the intensive engagement with the topic of plastic. “We are especially pleased to be the first cargo airline to use a more environmentally friendly film for transporting our cargo after many tests at selected stations and good collaboration with our specialist departments, our waste disposal partner, and our film producer. This brings us a step closer to our goal of circular use of our plastic film.”

Circular Use of Plastic as a Resource

Lufthansa Cargo pursues a comprehensive plastic strategy based on the idea of utilizing the resource according to the circular principle. The company is working together with its local waste disposal partner and film manufacturer Verpa Folie Weidhausen GmbH in Germany to collect the approximately 400 tons of used film per year in Frankfurt that are no longer needed after transport, process them into granulate, and incorporate them into new film as a recycling component. Numerous tests have been conducted in the past, both in handling at Lufthansa Cargo and with the waste disposal partner and film manufacturer, to gradually approach the desired circular model, also known as “Closed Loop” in sustainability management.

Long Development Time

“The development of a sustainable plastic film is a long-term task that we have worked on intensively with Lufthansa Cargo. We have jointly developed requirements for the new film, tested it in operation, and can now introduce it as a standard product worldwide at Lufthansa Cargo,” explains Peter Griebel, Managing Director of Verpa Folie Weidhausen GmbH. “We have now set ourselves the goal of gradually increasing the recycling content of our plastic film to 30 percent by the year 2025.”

Standard Process in Handling

Since March 2022, Lufthansa Cargo has also established the multiple use of plastic films as a standard process in handling. This step will also gradually contribute to reducing overall consumption. The collection and disposal of used materials are also a focus for the airline: In recent months, it has been reviewed worldwide how the films are collected and disposed of, and where necessary, corresponding agreements with local waste disposal partners have been adjusted to ensure that as much of the plastic resource as possible is collected and disposed of properly – and does not end up in the environment.

Further Optimization of Films Planned

At the end of the year, further optimization of the films is planned: Lufthansa Cargo intends to use films from the manufacturer Verpa that contain a recycling component and are also biodegradable. The special feature is that despite the recycling content, these films will still be recyclable together with other films without restrictions. The primary goal remains the material recycling of the films. However, if films do end up in a landfill, they will be completely and naturally decomposed within eight to ten years, thanks to incorporated special enzymes that significantly stimulate the decomposition activities of bacteria – without producing microplastics. In the long term, Lufthansa Cargo also aims to find local film manufacturers worldwide that can produce plastic film according to its strict sustainability criteria and provide it on-site – ideally in the future made from sustainable biogenic raw materials.

Photo: © Lufthansa Cargo