{"id":50829,"date":"2024-05-22T18:04:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=52665"},"modified":"2024-05-22T18:04:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:04:40","slug":"rail-freight-london-trash-is-capital-cash-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=50829","title":{"rendered":"Rail freight London trash is capital cash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reducing, reusing, recycling; but still, London throws away a train load of trash every day. That\u2019s either a big problem or a big opportunity. For rail freight, it\u2019s the latter. Five times a week, the waste that previously was London\u2019s landfill, now fills a train instead. It heads west to Bristol, where it\u2019s made into electricity and construction materials.<\/strong>
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They may not be the most glamorous trains on the network, but they do provide a service that\u2019s very much indispensable. The household waste trains, affectionately known as \u2018binliners\u2019, keep London from disappearing under a mountain of its own making. At the same time, they keep the lights on for 50,000 West Country homes.<\/p>\n

Waste into tangible assets<\/h2>\n

It could be argued that we all could do more to reduce, reuse and recycle. However, we have a long way to go before we reach a zero-waste society. Until that utopia is achieved, we\u2019ll rely on the binliners, taking out our trash, one thousand tonnes at a time, to keep us from wading through an ever-growing pile of detritus.<\/p>\n

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Not the most glamourous job on the railways, but we’re glad for it all the same. Binliner being loaded Image: \u00a9 West London Waste.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

London does a good job of dealing with its household waste. Some say we could do better, and some say we could certainly do better at keeping the capital clean and tidy. However, the vast majority of Londoners treat their waste responsibly, and that makes it easier for those charged with taking the next step: turning all that waste into tangible assets.<\/p>\n

Busy around the clock<\/h2>\n

West London Waste is an enterprise that handles that task for London\u2019s six westerly boroughs. That\u2019s a population of around two million people who keep two waste transfer stations busy around the clock. Fortunately, both stations are rail connected. That makes the long-distance part of waste transfer a manageable daily task.<\/p>\n