Can a plastic bottle maintain an airplane? The airline KLM says yes and is working on a pilot program that seeks to rescue PET bottles to make tools that will be used to maintain its planes. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2O3duiowBg/ Maintenance on an airplane with PET bottles? Traveling by plane is an experience that many people love, but a flight of only an hour and a half has a large environmental footprint. That is why KLM has been focusing its efforts on making airlines more sustainable and thereby inspiring its passengers to make the same commitment. As part of this commitment, KLM decided to recover empty PET bottles from its flights to support aircraft maintenance. The airline's 3D printers model parts for aircraft maintenance, but to do so, they use printing filament. In the same way that regular printers use ink, 3D printers need filament to print. 

KLM used to purchase this material from external suppliers. Now the empty PET bottles from their Ecuador Mobile Number List flights are handed over to a recycling company in exchange for high-quality plastic pellets, which are themain material in the filament. 3D printers play a very important role for KLM because they can speed up repair and maintenance processes. For example, special caps have been developed to ensure that some parts of the tires are not painted when Boeing 737 wheels are painted. Protective tape is no longer used in Engine Services during turbine blade maintenance. It has now been replaced by a 3D printed cover. And the Engine Services tool is designed to remove the overhead baggage bins on board the Boeing 787. Reduce spending KLM currently uses about 1.5 kg of high-quality filament every day. Because KLM now supplies PET bottles as raw material, the cost of this filament has dropped from EUR 60/kg to only. 

Working with recycling  and filament manufacturer Reflow, KLM can now not only be innovative in its use of 3D printing, but also make the process circular. One of KLM's goals is precisely to reduce the volume of its waste by 50% by 2030, compared to 2011 levels. This will be achieved by producing less waste overall and increasing the amount that can be recycled. In 2018, KLM reduced waste by 9% and 28% of waste was recycled. We are continually investing in sustainable and innovative products and processes, for our customers, for society and for our own employees. It's great to see how we can make useful products from waste materials. Ton Dortmans, Executive Vice President of Engineering and Maintenance So after each flight, the KLM team is in charge of rescuing the empty bottles and these are transformed into filament for 3D printers.This process means that an empty water bottle can end up as part of a 3D printed piece of equipment saving Engineering and Maintenance time and money. Trash for some and treasure for others Before KLM introduced the Jet Legs, it conducted a study to find out what its passengers prefer to wear when traveling.