Creating a circular economy from waste

Railways generate significant amounts of consumer waste daily, including many hard to recycle plastics such as wrappers, packaging and single-use containers discarded by passengers in stations or onboard our services. LNER currently operates 3 waste sorting facilities (Newcastle, Peterborough and Doncaster), where waste is manually segregated into its relevant waste streams and taken away by our waste contractor for further processing and recycling.

LNER would like to implement a more circular approach to waste management, in which waste can be processed, reused or recycled onsite to reduce the export of waste outside our operations and minimise the import of new materials into the business. Having successfully trialled one solution, LNER would like to understand the level of market interest and to identify alternative methods of addressing the challenge.

How might we: Re-purpose waste generated on trains and at stations into commercially viable products? Develop innovative, low carbon technologies to recycle waste at station facilities? Minimise the carbon footprint of transporting waste between processing infrastructure to reduce emissions?