Photos: Airplane recycling taking off

Between now and 2024, some 7,200 commercial airplanes--including Boeing 747 and 737 and Airbus A320 and A340 models--will be scrapped, according to Boeing. As many as 18,000 commercial aircraft currently fly the skies, and most last about a quarter century.

Boeing in 2006 co-founded the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association, whose 34 member companies aim to expand the airplane recycling rate to 90 percent from about 60 percent today.

This Boeing 707 is one of many thousands of aircraft lingering in the deserts of Arizona, Nevada, and California.