Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited has won the Corporate Category at the 2026 TIACA Air Cargo Sustainability Awards for a circular packaging project designed to reduce single-use plastic in air cargo operations. The company, known as Hactl, was recognised for its “Redefining Cargo Packaging Through Circular Materials” initiative, which focuses on aviation-grade polyethylene plastic sheets made from post-consumer recycled content.

The award highlights an important packaging challenge in air cargo. Plastic sheets are widely used to protect shipments from moisture, contamination and handling damage, but they are often treated as single-use materials. For large cargo terminals, this creates a significant waste stream and a direct sustainability issue, especially where packaging must also meet strict mechanical and operational performance requirements.

Hactl says it has become the world’s first air cargo terminal to successfully develop and lab-validate 100% closed-loop recycled plastic sheets capable of meeting aviation-grade requirements. The achievement is notable because recycled plastic content can affect tensile strength, elasticity and processing performance, all of which are critical for cargo protection in demanding logistics environments.

The project shows that circular packaging can move beyond consumer goods and into high-performance industrial logistics, where safety, durability and reliability are non-negotiable.

Since 2022, Hactl had already transitioned to plastic sheets containing 30–50% recycled content. However, increasing the proportion of post-consumer recycled material beyond that level created technical barriers. Higher recycled content can make films harder to process and less consistent, particularly when packaging must withstand stretching, wrapping, movement, temperature variation and cargo handling.

To overcome these limitations, Hactl collaborated with the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute, now merged with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, to create an eco-friendly multi-layer polyethylene film structure. The design allows the sheets to preserve the mechanical performance required for aviation cargo while increasing recycled content to a fully circular level.

The closed-loop model is central to the innovation. Used plastic sheets are collected from Hactl’s SuperTerminal 1, converted into reusable pellets and remanufactured into new films made entirely from 100% post-consumer recycled material. This keeps the material in productive use and reduces dependence on virgin petrochemical resin.

The potential environmental impact is significant. By breaking through the previous 50% recycled-content ceiling, the project could divert approximately 700 tonnes of plastic waste from landfill each year. It also supports emissions reduction by lowering demand for virgin plastic production, while extending the usable life of materials already circulating within the cargo packaging system.

For the wider packaging industry, the project offers a scalable example of how circularity can be applied to sectors that require high-performance materials. Many industrial and transport packaging formats remain difficult to redesign because they must protect valuable goods under challenging conditions. Hactl’s approach suggests that material science, controlled collection and closed-loop processing can help solve these problems without weakening operational standards.

• Circular material flow: used cargo sheets are collected, pelletised and remade into new packaging films.
• Higher recycled content: the solution moves from partial PCR use to 100% closed-loop recycled material.
• Operational performance: the sheets are designed to maintain the strength and elasticity required in air cargo handling.

Michelle Choi, Acting Chief Executive of Hactl, said the recognition confirms the company’s sustainability efforts and described the 100% closed-loop recycled plastic sheets as more than a material breakthrough. She highlighted the project’s potential to combine environmental benefit, technical integrity and commercial viability across the air cargo industry.

The TIACA award also underlines how packaging innovation is becoming a strategic part of logistics sustainability. As global cargo operators face rising expectations around waste reduction, emissions and resource efficiency, packaging materials will increasingly be assessed not only by cost and performance, but by their ability to support circular systems.

Hactl’s project demonstrates that even highly specialised packaging applications can be redesigned when recycling infrastructure, material engineering and operational commitment are aligned. For air cargo and other logistics sectors, it may provide a practical model for reducing plastic waste while maintaining the reliability required for global supply chains.

Image concept: an air cargo terminal with pallets wrapped in transparent recycled polyethylene sheets, workers collecting used cargo films for closed-loop recycling, and a circular materials graphic showing plastic sheets being converted into pellets and remanufactured into new packaging.