LNER Goes Green: Train Operator Continues to Send Zero Waste to Landfill

To celebrate Zero Waste Week, LNER can reveal that it has been re-certified as a Zero Waste to Landfill company, meaning one hundred per cent of waste collected from LNER managed stations, offices or its train depot in Aberdeen is either being recycled or is being used to create energy.

1,414 tonnes of waste was collected at LNER’s 11 managed stations, offices and depot last year. The majority, 1,273 tonnes, is from its stations. This also includes waste coming off any trains at those stations. The rubbish collected is around the same weight as three 9-carriage LNER Azuma trains* which transport millions of customers across between London and the Scottish Highlands each year.

Onboard LNER trains, dedicated cleaning teams collect rubbish, including tea and coffee cups, sandwich and snack wrappers, drinks cans and crisp packets. In addition, any waste from Newcastle, Doncaster, and Peterborough stations is sorted by hand at dedicated waste sorting hubs in these cities, making sure it is recycled responsibly.

LNER has also installed cold water points in its First Class lounges in Doncaster and Newcastle, removing bottled still water. Through this, LNER has avoided nearly 140,000 plastic bottles per year, saving over 2,000kg of plastic waste.

Caitlin Bent, Environment Manager at LNER, said: “Travelling by train with LNER is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel, with the majority of our 200 train services per day using electric power to carry millions of customers each year across the East Coast Main Line and beyond. However, as a business, we are proud to do much more than that to have a positive impact on our planet.

“At LNER, we put our people, places and planet at the heart of everything that we do, and that’s why we’re so committed to making sure that waste from our trains, stations, offices and depots is either recycled responsibly or used to create energy for homes and businesses across the country. Our teams work hard across the route to make this a reality, but we also want to thank our customers for their support too.”