Passengers at Britain’s biggest and busiest stations can now shop more sustainably, thanks to a new initiative from Network Rail. Greener retailers now carry a sustainability seal of approval in their windows, highlighting the credentials to passengers.
This move follows a major sustainability commitment in 2018, as part of which Network Rail pledged to:
- Ban retailers from supplying plastic cutlery and cups in managed stations by the end of 2020:
- Implement a coffee cup recycling scheme for managed stations by the end of 2020;
- Expand the roll out of coffee ground recycling to all managed stations by the end of 2020.
One year later, half of all managed station retailers have already stopped supplying plastic cups and cutlery and 74 per cent of Network Rail’s managed stations now recycle coffee grounds.
While trials are still underway to find a suitable system for recycling coffee cups, Network Rail is achieving a 73 per cent average recycling rate in its managed stations, with 99 per cent of waste diverted from landfill.
As one of the Britain’s largest retail landlords, Network Rail is using its position to encourage the adoption of green initiatives for the benefit of passengers and the environment. The progress made against its retailing commitments is part of Network Rail’s ongoing environmental efforts and ambition to be a market leader in sustainability.
Chief executive Andrew Haines said: “We are committed to making stations greener and as part of that commitment, we want to be transparent about sustainable practices in our stations.
“We have put passengers and their values at the heart of this new scheme and hope that the seal of approval will go some way to making it easier for them to shop sustainably in our stations.”
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