American Airlines Cargo announced its transition to BioNatur Plastics™, launched by M&G Packaging, for use in its cargo operations. The carrier has already begun replacing its current plastic products with the BioNatur brand across most major hubs, an adoption that has allowed American to reduce its long-term plastic waste in landfills by more than 130,000 lbs. or 6.4 million water bottles, in 2022 alone.

BioNatur Plastics is a growing line of biodegradable plastic products manufactured with proprietary formulations that make them the most sustainable plastic options available. Regular plastic can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. BioNatur biodegradable plastics will biodegrade under landfill conditions in only 5 to 10 years. The end products are fully recyclable in normal waste collection streams, and with added strength, the plastics can be used in thinner amounts – thus minimizing the quantity of plastic use overall.

American began making the transition to BioNatur Plastics in early 2022. The biodegradable plastic is currently in use for cargo operations in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Miami International Airport (MIA), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), with plans to continue adopting the plastic across its network.

“American Airlines Cargo is excited to make our cargo operations more sustainable with the adoption of biodegradable plastic products from BioNatur,” said Greg Schwendinger, President of American Airlines Cargo. “Replacing our cargo-use plastic products with BioNatur Plastics drastically reduces the waste we leave behind and is an important step in our airline goal toward a more sustainability future.”

“BioNatur Plastics can drastically help reduce the amount of trash we leave behind on this earth that can lie for centuries in a landfill, or worse, turn into harmful microplastics, said Charles Rick, President of BioNatur Plastics. “We are excited to have American Airlines alongside us as we work to reduce plastic waste in landfills.”

BioNatur Plastics is manufactured with a 1% load of an organic, food-safe proprietary additive that allows anaerobic bacteria to digest the plastic in a landfill. Outside of a landfill, the plastic has an indefinite shelf life and performs exactly like traditional plastic products.