Biffa and GB Railfreight (GBRf) have announced today (6 May) the opening of a waste transport hub in East London that was previously unused land.
The Renwick Road site, situated in Barking, will see 250,000 tonnes of waste transported by rail to Biffas facilities across the UK.
Biffa spent £4.2 million transforming the site, removing 14,000 tonnes of fly-tipped debris in preparation for its opening.
It is projected that five trains a week will operate from East London to transport waste to sites at Roxby, Scunthorpe, Leeds and Manchester.
The benefits of transporting waste by rail are numerous the biggest advantage being that it takes vehicles off the road and reduces carbon emissions.
Biffa has already reduced the carbon emissions of its operations by 75 per cent through rail transportation.
Mick Davis, Chief Operating Officer for Resources and Energy Division at Biffa said: The opening of our new rail hub marks the next step in our strategic partnership with GBRf to increase our capacity for transportation by rail.
It will help us reduce dependence on vehicles on the road and reduce the emissions we produce. The site was totally derelict when we took it on and amongst the rubbish and debris we cleared, we actually found some interesting items, including one and a half tonnes of World War Two bullets.
John Smith, Managing Director at GBRf commented: We are delighted to be working with Biffa on this project and our collaboration will see us move thousands of tonnes of waste in a sustainable way.
This is the way forward if we are to reach the net zero carbon emission target by 2050 and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Biffa in the months and years to come to ensure more waste can be removed by rail.
Fuente: Resource