New cullet train to fast-track our sustainable future

On October 26th 2017, we received the first ever cullet delivery directly to our new, onsite railhead terminus at the Elton facility. The railhead is an important step for our commitment to innovative and sustainable manufacturing.

Encirc is the most sustainable container glass manufacturer in the industry. Sustainability continues to be an integral part of our business strategy and we’re constantly looking for new ways to make Encirc as environmentally conscious as possible. We’ve been working hard over the years to minimise any adverse effects during our manufacturing processes, maintaining our position as the most sustainable manufacturer in the industry.

Through a multi-million pound investment, we have developed our onsite railhead terminus. The route links our 200 acre site to the local Helsby track, and will be used to transport raw materials and cullet directly to the Encirc plant.

This development is set to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. The railhead will cut almost 2 million road miles from our logistics, reducing our HGV reliance by an estimated 6,600 journeys per annum. This is a big step towards the targets outlined in the Government’s recent Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmap, which sees a goal of 80 per cent carbon reduction across UK industrial sectors by 2050. In utilising the railhead, we are forecast to save approximately 2,400 tonnes in carbon emissions each year.

As well as contributing to carbon reductions across our manufacturing process, the railhead will optimise our production, making the site more efficient. Streamlining the supply chain has boosted our capacity and material supply to the site.

This railhead initiative follows on from a number of measures which we have already taken to support our sustainability strategy. For example, we have reduced the average weight of each bottle we produce by 15 per cent since 2008. Additionally, our advanced bulk shipping service means we can carry nearly three times as much wine as the standard containers used for beverage transportation, reducing the number of cargo ships we use throughout our 360 strategy.

We hope that the new railhead will serve as an example to our partners of how we can boost efficiencies and sustainability across the whole glass sector. In June last year, we were delighted to pick up an award in the Sustainable Practice category, a recognition which stands as tribute to all of the hard work carried out by our teams of staff.

From here onwards, we hope that the Elton railhead will help Encirc to keep developing as one of the biggest and most environmentally conscious glass producers in the UK.