Austrian Airlines, in partnership with Vienna Airport and oil and gas company OMV, will send its used plastic cups to be converted into new fuels and plastics.

Cabin crew will collect the cups separately, then the airport sends them to a disposal company to be cleaned and shredded before going to OMV’s ReOil pilot plant at its Schwechat Refinery. The cups then get converted into crude, which can be turned into fuel or other raw materials for re-use as plastics.

OMV said it has explored the potential reuse of plastics since 2011, and testing the new partnership with Austrian Airlines since January.

OMV said 100 kilograms of used plastics produces 100 liters of synthetic crude.

“The exceptional properties of plastic as a material make it hard to imagine life without it,” said Thomas Gangl, senior VP, refining and petrochemicals, OMV.

“In the ReOil plant, we are able to turn the AUA drinking cups into synthetic crude and then process them into fuel or back into plastics. Our OMV research project allows us to close the circle and reduce waste. These joint efforts send a clear signal of how important conserving resources is to both of our companies.”