Northern Air Cargo announced today that as a result of its 2012 sponsorship of the Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) Flying Cans & Bottles program, the company shipped a combined total of 50,000 pounds of aluminum cans and #1 PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles collected in rural communities throughout Alaska bound for RockTenn Recycling in Anchorage.
“We are very grateful to Northern Air Cargo who donates the backhaul for this material. They, along with other participating air carriers and businesses in Alaska who support ALPAR programs, are key to making this program feasible and sustainable,” says Mary Fisher, ALPAR executive director.
Over the past five years, the Flying Cans & Bottles program has received a steady increase in volume of these recyclable materials, from over 26,000 lbs. in 2008 to over 50,000 in 2012. The recycled materials will save landfill space, decrease litter and pollution and provide feedstock for manufacturing products such as fleece clothing, fiberfill, and new plastic bottles and aluminum cans.