CFRP, short for carbon fiber reinforced polymer, has become the new standard for commercial aircraft construction. Lighter and stronger than traditional aircraft aluminum alloys, manufacturers have increasingly been incorporating the material, also known as composites. By weight, the Boeing 777 is 8% composites, while the Airbus A320 is 10% and the A380 is 25%. Meanwhile, the 787 Dreamliner and A350 XWB are majority composite by weight and over 80% composite by construction.
The use of composites has allowed manufacturers to design smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft with longer ranges, essentially revolutionizing ultra-long-haul travel. However, while the use of CFRP is beneficial today, it poses a major problem for aircraft recyclers who recycle planes at the end of their lives. With some 787s and A350s now over ten years old, now is the time to begin exploring solutions on how to recycle carbon-composite airliners when they reach 20 or 30 years old.
The Challenge With Recycling CFRP Airliners
When a 767 is scrapped, the aircraft is first drained of liquids such as hydraulic fluids and then washed before being lubricated. Explosives from the emergency exit slides are deactivated, the air ducts are sealed, and a protective coat of paint is then applied before the aircraft is dismantled. Parts in high demand are then reused on the second-hand market, while the rest of the metal components are recycled for other use. Non-metal parts with no recycling value are discarded.
The most common metals recycled are aluminum and titanium alloys. Based on their composition, the metal alloys are sorted and then melted together to form a single alloy. The metal can then either be reused in the production of spare aircraft parts or for non-aviation applications. These can vary widely, ranging from automotive parts to consumer goods. In 2024, 
Delta Air Lines and American Express issued a limited-edition SkyMiles card made in part from recycled metal from the carrier’s long-retired Boeing 747 fleet.
Carbon composite parts can be reused on the spare parts market, but recycling the material itself is more difficult. The primary component of CFRP is carbon fiber, which can be used in multiple applications. The challenge, however, is that the aviation industry has yet to develop comprehensive solutions for separating the materials that make up a CFRP component and using them for future aviation parts. As such, CFRP components are largely discarded during disassembly, which will become a much larger issue as the majority of CFRP aircraft age out.
Current Solutions For These Planes
In 2025, Airbus signed an agreement with French deeptech recycling firm Fairmat to study recycling technologies for CFRP airliners. Airbus currently produces the A350, which is 53% CFRP by weight and uses the material for a majority of the plane’s construction, along with the A220, which is 46% CFRP by weight and uses the material for its wings and fuselage. As such, Airbus has a significant stake in ensuring that its planes can be recycled when they age out.
The main purpose of the study is to explore how to extract the carbon fiber, which is the most valuable part of a CFRP component, without damaging its strength. This is difficult because the fibers are bound in resin, and the study aims to understand the conditions required to extract them without compromising their integrity. What’s more, the study aims to assess the suitability of the extracted fiber for use in aviation. Currently, the two parties are focusing on the Airbus A350, examining its wing and keel beam pieces.
|
Aircraft |
Variants |
Composites By Weight |
|---|---|---|
|
Boeing 777 |
777-200, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, 777-300, 777-300ER, 777F |
8% |
|
Airbus A320 |
A318-190, A319-100, A320-100/200, A321-100/200 |
10% |
|
Airbus A380 |
A380-800 |
25% |
|
Airbus A220 |
A220-100, A220-300 |
46% |
|
Boeing 787 |
787-8, 787-9, 787-10 |
50% |
|
Airbus A350 |
A350-900, A350-1000, A350F |
53% |
This is the bigger challenge, as materials used on aircraft are subject to intense physical stress and must pass strict certification requirements. Fairmat, which specializes in recycling carbon fiber, has developed Infinity Recycling, a technology that uses a low-energy plasma process, mechanical precision, and advanced software. However, while the firm has experience with Infinity Recycling for composites, it’s yet to produce carbon fiber suitable for aviation.
How Airbus & Boeing Aircraft Production Has Changed Over The Past Decade
Over the last ten years, Airbus has outgrown Boeing to become the world’s second-largest airplane maker.
Why Recycled Materials Are More Common Than You Realize
A majority of a retired airliner’s value comes from its engines. Parts like an APU or landing gear can also be valuable, sometimes recertified and sold as spares, or broken down for resale. Meanwhile, the rest of an aircraft’s components are recycled. Recycled metal is desirable because the process for creating aluminum alloys is energy-intensive and therefore expensive. This is even more so for titanium alloys, which are desirable for their increased strength despite being heavier than aluminum.
This same market will exist for cheaper CFRP components, which are stronger, more fire-resistant, more resistant to corrosion, and have higher fatigue limits than metal alloys. Currently, CFRP airliners are being produced in large numbers, but they remain expensive to purchase, and the potential for reused parts or materials will be instrumental in ensuring their viability decades from now, once they’re out of production.
In addition to the economic aspect of recycling aircraft parts, there’s also the environmental component. Recycling metal components reduces the need to create new alloys, thereby lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The same is true for composites. What’s more, CFRP is non-biodegradable, meaning it persists in landfills, while incineration releases toxic gases into the environment. As such, it’s within the aviation industry’s interests to ensure that solutions are available to facilitate widespread CFRP recycling.
The In-Production Airliners That Are Using CFRP
Carbon composites have long been used in the aviation industry, but on a relatively small scale. As previously mentioned, the A350 uses CFRP for the majority of its construction (over 80% in volume), while the A220 uses the material primarily for its wings and empennage. Boeing, meanwhile, has been delivering the 787 for almost 15 years, which was the world’s first majority composite airliner. By weight, the 787 is roughly 50% composites, while by volume it’s roughly 80%, similar to the A350.
The 787 is Boeing’s only majority-composite airliner, but it’s also working to certify the 777X, which features new CFRP wings. In addition, some new derivatives of older airliners feature an increased use of CFRP; the out-of-production 747-8 features added CFRP components in its wings and engine nacelles, and the same is true for the A330neo. With its bespoke CFRP wing, however, the 777X is the best example of a new aircraft variant with a much higher CFRP content than before.
|
Aircraft |
Entry Into Service |
Total Built |
|---|---|---|
|
Boeing 747-8 (747-8i, 747-8F) |
2011 (out of production in 2023) |
155 |
|
Airbus A330neo (A330-800neo, A330-900neo) |
2018 |
189 (489 ordered in total) |
|
Boeing 777X (777-8, 777-8F, 777-9) |
2027 (projected) |
Five (619 ordered in total) |
However, while composites are the future, it’s unclear how widely new airliners will use the material in the short term. Currently, Airbus is actively studying the development of a replacement for the A320neo, while Boeing’s next airliner will be a replacement for the 737 MAX. These planes will primarily be used on short-to-medium-haul flights, where the reduced weight from composites has less benefit. The A220 doesn’t use CFRP in its fuselage, and composites for the wings haven’t provided a clear benefit for the program, given the small fuel savings and high manufacturing costs.
Why Doesn’t The Boeing 787 Use Traditional Aluminum Construction?
Lightweight, strong, and flexible, composite materials are the wave of the future.
The Aviation Industry’s Sustainability Efforts
The image that typically comes into mind when discussing aircraft recycling is the reuse of scrap metal and, in the future, CFRP components. However, airliners also have interiors that need attention. Rather than throw away the seat covers, 
Southwest Airlines launched an initiative in 2013 to upcycle the leather seat covers of its retired airliners. The project involves partnering with non-profit organizations to turn the leather into consumer products and has been hugely successful.
In addition to the industry’s recycling efforts, it’s also working on directly reducing the environmental impact of flying. On the one hand, the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is considered a key method to decarbonize the industry, as it leads to lower carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel, and SAF production uses renewable waste. On the other hand, the industry is actively exploring new propulsion technology, such as hydrogen-powered engines or batteries.
In addition to these, the industry is also tackling what many believe is one of aviation’s biggest contributors to global warming: contrails. These are essentially man-made miniature clouds that trap heat emitted by the Earth, and American Airlines is actively leading an effort to adjust flight paths to reduce contrail production. While debate persists over the full impact of contrails, the industry is taking the issue seriously. In addition, the use of SAF is believed to also reduce contrails.
