Recycled plastic railway sleepers to be manufactured in UK

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Sicut Enterprises is to bring the manufacturing of its recycled plastic composite sleepers to the UK.

The company expects to announce its plans for the manufacture Ecotrax railway sleepers in the coming weeks.

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However, Sicut Enterprises has said it will source local scrap plastic to manufacture Ecotrax, that will be an alternative to traditional wood sleepers.

To date, Ecotrax has been manufactured by the other licensee of the technology, which was developed at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, from its plant in Texas.

Sicut chief executive William Mainwaring said: “With the rising UK and European demand for Ecotrax and other products using Sicut’s licensed technology, local manufacture is the only solution that will deliver customer expectations on lead times, volumes and pricing.

“The UK has the raw material and the manufacturing capability to meet local demand and the manufacture of Ecotrax in the UK will provide a much sought after boost to the embattled plastic recycling industry, which in some areas is seemingly on the verge of collapse.

“Ecotrax manufacture will bring inward investment to the UK, new advanced manufacturing, green jobs and local regeneration.

“It is clearly wrong that high quality hardwood is still being used in rail infrastructure when a proven alternative, manufactured from plastic waste, offers a better value alternative.

“Bringing the manufacture of Ecotrax to the UK from the US will, I hope, remove the final obstacle to widespread adoption of this remarkable technology across Europe, and the economic, environmental and social benefits that come with it.”