Australia turned waste plastic into railway sleepers in 2015; they can last 50 years

Australia began experimenting with railway sleepers made from recycled plastic in 2015, turning material that might otherwise have gone to landfill into a component designed to sit beneath railway tracks. Developed by Integrated Recycling with researchers at Monash University's Institute of Railway Technology, the Duratrack sleeper is made from about 85% post-consumer plastic waste, including agricultural plastics, polystyrene and other difficult-to-recycle materials. After years of laboratory research and smaller railway trials, the sleepers reached Melbourne's metropolitan network in 2019, when about 190 were installed at Richmond station. Further testing followed at Tottenham Junction, where researchers monitored plastic and timber sleepers under real railway conditions. The sleepers were eventually approved for specified low-speed applications and have a potential lifespan of up to 50 years.Australia's plastic-to-railway experimentThe Duratrack project grew from an attempt to address two problems at the same time: the need for railway sleepers and the growing volume of plastic waste requiring new uses.Monash University's Institute of Railway Technology worked with Victorian man...