Heathrow Express aims to reduce waste to landfill to zero

(19/03/2009)

Heathrow Express carries an average of 16,000 passengers each day with over 50 million people having travelled on Heathrow Express since launch. A culture of "re-use" and "recycle" is gathering pace to reduce waste being turned into landfill at Old Oak Common Depot, the maintenance depot for Heathrow Express.

Steve Chambers, Service Proposition Director at Heathrow Express, said: "We are now recycling 50% of our non-hazardous waste at the depot. Our recycling programme over the past year is starting to show results and we continue to look for ways of improving our segregation to further reduce our landfill disposal."

Heathrow Express was one of the first train companies to be accredited the ISO 14001 standard - the benchmark for all companies looking to manage their environmental management system (EMS). The standard requires Heathrow Express to demonstrate continual improvement.

Chambers adds: "Our objectives are to achieve ongoing reductions in the total waste produced. By 2020 Heathrow Express will reduce waste to landfill to zero, increase the percentage of contract waste that is recycled to 90%, reduce energy wastage in our stations and have 100% compliance with Duty of Care and Hazardous Waste regulations.

The advantages of recycling over landfill are endless. The energy and pollution generated in extracting and processing virgin materials far exceeds that created by recycling. Ultimately, it is by making the right choices now - such as how to dispose of our waste - that we can protect and nurture the environment for future generations."

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