Inland's Portland plant takes the spent chemical and recycles it back into usable propylene glycol to again deice planes at several other airports — or for other uses, such as windshield wiper fluid or lavatory fluid. That process takes several months.

Yes, many major airports now actively capture and recycle deicing fluid to minimize environmental impact and reduce costs. The primary component of deicing fluid is propylene glycol (or ethylene glycol), which is toxic to aquatic life if it reaches local waterways through runoff. To combat this, airports install specialized "deicing pads" with drainage systems that collect the "spent" fluid. This mixture of water and glycol is then sent to an on-site or near-site processing facility. There, the water is evaporated, and the glycol is purified through distillation or reverse osmosis. The resulting recycled glycol can be processed back into Type I deicing fluid (for removing ice) or sold for non-aviation industrial uses, such as in antifreeze, polyester resins, or heat transfer fluids. Some airports, like Oslo and Munich, are global leaders in this "closed-loop" system, achieving recovery rates of over 60%. While not every airport has the infrastructure for full recycling, most are now required by environmental regulations to at least contain and treat the fluid before it is discharged into the sewer system.