U.S., Oct. 30 -- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the first airline in the world to recycle PET bottles to make tools for repairing and maintaining its aircraft.

Empty bottles are collected at the end of every flight and transformed into filament, the material used in 3D printers. This process means an empty water bottle can end up as part of a 3D-printed piece of equipment that saves KLM's Engineering & Maintenance department time and money.

In the same way normal printers use ink, 3D printers need filament to print with. KLM used to buy this material from external suppliers. But now empty PET bottles from its flights are delivered to a recycling company in exchange for high-quality plastic pellets, which are the main material in filament. ...