Tie recycling is a budget line item that yields multiple returns on the investment. As railroads continue to face pressure to improve and report on environmental sustainability while optimizing operational efficiency, recycling ties offers a solution to both goals, with bottom-line benefits too. Here are reasons to make budgeting for tie recycling a priority in 2025.
1. Environmental Responsibility and Compliance Benefits
Railroads are under growing scrutiny from regulators and communities to minimize environmental impact in measurable ways. TiEnergy’s tie recycling process saves 3.06 pounds of carbon per tie, helping railroads meet sustainability targets and provide quantifiable data for compliance.
Besides the carbon impact, recycling creosote-treated ties prevents the harmful effects of improper disposal, such as soil and water contamination. Old ties piled in storage create fire risks and other safety hazards, and proper tie recycling mitigates these risks. The costs for railroads to address environmental harm is far greater than the cost of preventing it, which makes budgeting for tie recycling a wise choice.
2. Bottom Line Benefits
Including tie recycling in your budget may seem like an additional expense, but it can lead to significant savings over time. Alternate methods can carry high costs for storage, removal, and transportation, or even trigger fines from improper disposal. TiEnergy’s seamless process takes the burden off railroads while providing bottom-line benefits.
What’s more, responsibly removing old ties can unlock new financial opportunities. For example, once old ties are removed from storage, that land is freed up for potential topline revenue.
3. Resource Efficiency
Disposing ties creates waste, but recycling and repurposing ties allows railroads to be an integral part of the circular economy. More specifically, when railroads recycle old ties with TiEnergy, there’s a domino effect of ongoing benefits. TiEnergy takes the ties and uses its patented technology, known as the Tie Plate Picker, to remove all metal hardware. Once the hardware is removed, ties can be ground up into TIEROC, an in-demand aggregate substitute that helps landfills improve their operations. This process gives new life to old ties and enhances local economies.
4. Career Benefits
Railroad executives juggle many responsibilities and are held to high standards. Adding tie recycling to the budget makes it easier to optimize tie removal and repurposing throughout the year, saving time and planning resources. It prevents unexpected budget disruptions from expensive environmental issues or safety incidents. In other words, creating a line item for tie recycling shows fiscal responsibility, an important element of any executive’s career.
Working with innovative organizations that turn old, expired ties into reusable products also shows a strategic focus and an ability to use company resources wisely. In short, planning ahead with a tie recycling budget benefits your organization, your community, and your own reputation as a leader.
5. Future Focus
Millions of ties expire each year, and that number will continue each year into the foreseeable future. Deciding what to do with old ties on an ad-hoc basis is inefficient, time consuming, and potentially costly. Creating an annual budget approach to tie management benefits your company in the immediate term and provides a replicable roadmap for the long term. In addition to saving expenses, standardizing this process reduces hassle and frees up time and resources that could be better spent on other important initiatives.
Including rail tie recycling in your 2025 budget is a smart, forward-thinking move. It aligns with environmental regulations, offers long-term financial benefits, and demonstrates your railroad’s commitment to sustainability.
Start planning today to make rail tie recycling a key part of your 2025 operational strategy.
