Tube Lines' escalator team steps up its green initiatives

Tube Lines’ escalator team has been stepping up its environmental initiatives to support the company’s objective to deliver a greener Tube service. The team has improved its waste management practices and introduced waste segregation measures to promote cost savings and bolster its environmental credentials.   The team now recycles up to 55% of waste generated by the maintenance and upgrade of escalators each year helping to deliver an annual cost saving of up to £65,000

In relation to escalator refurbishments, the scope for improving waste management practices is challenging because of space restrictions.  However, Tube Lines’ escalator team, which looks after 227 escalators on three of the busiest Underground lines, has introduced a range of simple initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint.

The team has introduced a system of waste segregation on site to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Machine rooms located beneath the escalators now contain colour-coded bins to separate out hazardous, non-hazardous and recyclable wastes. 

The team has also introduced changes to its cleaning regime which generate lower levels of waste water and cleans components to such a high degree that they can now be recycled as scrap metal rather than be disposed of as hazardous waste.  The team uses recycled rags to remove oil and grease contaminants from specific escalator components rather than using steam cleaners.  This has contributed to the overall saving by the team of up to £65,000 per year in waste disposal costs.

The maintenance regime has also been improved; by introducing a pre-start inspection prior to any planned maintenance activity, fewer component parts are removed for disposal.  Historically, a generic scope of works was performed during refurbishment resulting in the replacement of components that were not life expired or faulty.  Now during a refurbishment of an escalator, less associated waste is produced because there is no longer any unnecessary replacement of component parts still in good working order.

Finally, the team has engaged its supply chain to help deliver environmental improvements.  Used escalator steps that are not very worn are now given back to the supplier for reuse rather than disposing of them as scrap.  A proportion of the cost of new steps supplied to Tube Lines is deducted depending on the number of old steps that can be reused by the supplier.   Every year, 150 tonnes of scrap metal is returned to the suppliers for reuse and recycling generating a cost saving of £6,000. 

A similar agreement has been established with suppliers to take back the wooden pallets used in the delivery of escalator components, diverting on average four tonnes of pallets each year from landfill.

Through a combination of all these initiatives, 55% of escalator waste is now recycled or reused thereby promoting a saving of up to £65,000 in scrap metal waste disposal costs and generating an estimated £6,000 each year from scrap recovery and selling waste metals to recycling contractors.

These initiatives combined now see 55% of escalator waste recycled, contributing to a reduction of 194 tonnes of CO2 each year which will go some way to ensuring Tube Lines meets its 2008 business objective to reduce its overall carbon footprint by 5,000 tonnes of CO2.

Tom Flood, escalator service manager for Tube Lines said:

 “As a company we are driving through significant environmental improvements on the Tube to improve energy efficiencies and reduce our overall carbon footprint.  What is encouraging is that the initiatives we are introducing are not difficult to implement and the financial rewards go hand in hand with the environmental benefits. ”     

The team also sends disused escalator handrails to the marine industry to be used as hull protectors and recycles all non-contaminated paper, cardboard and plastic packaging.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Press office, Tube Lines: 020 7088 4848 / 07764 429 015

Notes to Editors

1. Tube Lines is responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of the infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. London Underground is responsible for operating the Underground, for employing drivers and station staff, for ticketing and fares, and for the Tube’s safety regime.
2. The Tube Lines consortium consists of two shareholders – Amey and Bechtel. They bring together some of the most experienced providers of business services with specialist skills in the rail industry, including track and signal renewals, plus project and operational management. They are providing some of the best project and operational managers from around the world to work on the modernisation of the Tube system. Amey owns two-thirds of Tube Lines’ business and Bechtel one third.

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