United Airlines To Fuel Planes With Food Waste

Sometime this summer, United Airlines will become the first airline to operate a regular passenger flight using alternative jet fuel, which is created from farm waste and oils derived from fat, reports The New York Times.

The flight, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, will mark a long-awaited milestone between the airline and biofuel industries.

This innovative new fuel will be composed of 30 percent animal fat and farm waste oil with 70 percent regular fuel. If everything goes according to plan, this alternative fuel will be mixed with United's overall fuel supply, report the Times.

On June 30, United announced a $30 million investment into Fulcrum Bioenergy, representing the largest investment ever by a domestic airline into the alternative fuel industry.

This push towards alternative fuel should help both the enviroment and United. Fulcrum believes their oil can cut carbon emissions by 80 percent and is cheaper than standard jet fuel according to the Times report.

This is the second such attempt United is making to embrace alternative fuel. In 2013, United bought 15 million gallons of biofuel from AltAir Fuels.

This alternative fuel source may help put the large amount of wasted food in America to better use.