VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) has made steady progress towards its objective to offer a zero-waste experience on its new Corridor fleet by 2025 by focusing on the reduction of packaging and materials in business and economy classes and the improvement of waste collection on board its trains and in its facilities.
Amongst key changes recently implemented as part of its journey towards offering a zero-waste experience on its new Corridor fleet, VIA Rail:
- Changed plastic cups, resulting in a 25% decrease in plastic use
- Reduced sandwich packaging, saving the equivalent of more than six tons of waste annually in economy class
- Completed in-class training of more than 70 percent of employees working on board trains to improve recycling and prepare for zero-waste objective.
“The key changes recently implemented are just the beginning of our zero-waste journey, and we are pleased our customers are already able to see improvements on our current fleet as we progress towards our objective of offering a zero-waste experience on our new Corridor fleet by 2025,” says Rita Toporowski, VIA Rail chief customer officer. “Determined to embed sustainability in every aspect of our operations, our zero-waste initiative exemplifies the vision we have for VIA Rail as a sustainable, modern and accessible mode of transportation.”
VIA Rail will also use reusable glassware and water pitchers instead of plastic as each new Corridor train enters service. The change, which is enabled by the configuration of the new fleet, will allow for a reduction of plastic bottles used in business class of more than two tons annually.
The full list of changes recently implemented as part of VIA Rail’s zero-waste objective is available on VIA Rail’s website.
