Alcoa, Boeing partner to boost aluminum recycling

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) and Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) announced Wednesday at the Paris Air Show that they will be teaming up to form a closed-loop program aimed at significantly increasing the recycling of internal aluminum aerospace alloys used in the production of Boeing airplanes.

Alcoa said the program will entail intermodal transport of aluminum alloy scrap material from Boeing's facilities in Auburn and Wichita, as well as third-party processors in Auburn, to Alcoa's Lafayette, Ind., facility for melting and recycling into new aerospace materials.

The company said the program lays the framework to expand recycling to a broader supply chain and all forms of aluminum. Alcoa predicts that at the outset of the program, approximately 8 million pounds of aluminum will be recycled annually.

“This program will maximize the value of aluminum scrap materials throughout the supply chain while also reducing waste,” Leslie Shuman , director of supply chain for Alcoa’s aerospace, transportation and industrial rolled products, said in a statement. “It also allows us to work closely with Boeing to ensure the quality and integrity of the materials we bring into our system for recycling.”