Gallery: Trains transport cans to recycling factory to reduce CO2 emissions

Transporting materials in this way emits 75% less carbon dioxide than when using trucks

It is a well-known fact that recycling helps reduce CO2 emissions and prevents the exhaustion of raw materials. However, it is important to acknowledge that the recycling process itself can also have a negative impact on the environment.

Understanding this, the Danish not-for-profit organisation Dansk Retursystem has found a way to make the process more environmentally friendly. More specifically, it announced that it will now use trains – instead of trucks – to transport used aluminium cans from its factory in Høje Taastrup, Denmark to its recycling factory in Germany, where they will be melted down into new cans.

According to the organisation, trials have revealed that transporting materials in this way emits 75% less CO2 than when using trucks. For this reason, it has now established a link between the two factories and plans to increase the number of cans it transports so that all the cans from Eastern Denmark are transported via trains by the end of the year.

In a press release, Dansk Retursystem notes that this effort is part of its goal to become CO2 neutral by 2030.