A recent study by Finnish researchers found that incorporating recycled plastics in railway sleeper car designs could make this mode of transportation even more sustainable.
Rail transportation is one of the most eco-friendly ways to get around for medium-length journeys. By using a train instead of a car, you could help reduce transit pollution by 80%. Choose rail instead of a short-haul flight, and you could get that number down to 86%.
Although it's a sustainable option, 30% of the total pollution from this mode of transport comes from the materials used in constructing them, as TechXplore reported. This includes steel and concrete, which are energetically costly to produce, leaving room in the process to reduce the carbon impact even further.
"Here we show that recycled plastics could be used as the material for railway sleepers and that overall emissions would be reduced. A smaller carbon footprint is achieved when currently incinerated waste streams are used as material," as Dr. Heikki Luomala, the study's first author, shared, per the article.
"We estimate that the CO2 reduction by repulping the available waste stream in Finland could amount to the heating emissions of 1,200 households, that is 3,610 tCO2e (tons of CO2 equivalents) per year."
Two common plastics from Finland's waste stream were reviewed to see how feasible they'd be for replacing more carbon-intensive materials. If viable, they could reduce the amount that gets incinerated or buried in landfills, both of which end up polluting ecosystems.
The first was liquid packaging board (LPB), which is used in the packaging sector and accounts for 40% of all plastic production. Next, the team considered acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a common waste material from electronic and electrical equipment, as the report explained, and there was a clear winner.
"Recycled ABS is much more suitable as railway sleeper material than recycled LPB: the strength and stiffness properties of ABS are approximately three times higher and closer to that of wooden sleepers," according to Luomala, as the report shared.
Plastic waste, which is notoriously difficult to break down, is a global problem, ending up in ecosystems and even our bodies. The report explained that Finland used to export this waste to the Far East but has recently launched the "ALL-IN for Plastics Recycling" (PLASTin) initiative to help make the country a leader in plastics recycling.
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Would you trust a train that travels over 600 miles an hour? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
No way ⛔ When plastics are burned, the pollutants are released into the atmosphere and eventually settle on land or in the water, which harms the environment and all the creatures that live in it.
While reducing the amount of waste that gets incinerated, the study found that there are other benefits to using ABS in their railway sleeper car design. It's easy to form, lightweight, and resistant to environmental factors.
Choosing plastic-free options is a proactive way to limit the material's use and reduce overall waste, but recycling and repurposing the plastics we already have is key to reaching our net-zero goals.
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has already shown interest in the findings of this report, as TechXplore noted, and if employed, the change could make sustainable railway travel an even more environmentally friendly way to get around.
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