Media centre

Tuesday 31 May 2005

NETWORK RAIL RECYCLES THE MOTORISTS WASTE

Region & Route:

National

More than 10 million tyres have been recycled into rubber level crossings, platforms and track access points and used by Network Rail. Deputy Chief Executive Iain Coucher said: “Network Rail and the rail industry are committed to caring for and enhancing the environment, and balancing this with the need to deliver a reliable and safe railway network.  This recycling initiative underlines the efforts being made to ensure the railway is an environmentally positive mode of transport.” Network Rail Environment Award winners HoldFast Level Crossings Limited, are the suppliers of these products and recently installed Bicester level crossing. Setting up a 50 metre rubber level crossing can take as little as three hours, meaning less disruption for passengers. The European Union generates 300 million new tyres every year.  When these reach the end of their life most will either be buried in landfill or burned[i].  Every year in the UK between 25 and 30 million tyres are discarded every year, of which 50% are not recycled and go into landfill[ii]. Benefits of using old tyres in this way include improved anti-skid values of the surface and the turning of potentially hazardous waste into an environmentally friendly product.  If you put all Network Rail’s waste rubber crossings together, they would make over 15km of recycled rubber, in which not a single ounce of virgin rubber is used!