Avanti West Coast improves station recycling with Waste Segregation Officers
New role at four stations saves 494 tonnes of recyclables in first year.

The train operator reports that nearly 500 tonnes of recyclable materials, including metal, paper, glass, and plastic, were recovered from four stations on the West Coast Main Line over the course of 12 months. This amount is roughly equivalent to the weight of a Pendolino train.
The Waste Segregation Officer role was initially trialled at Crewe station, where it increased recycling rates from 20 per cent to nearly 60 per cent. Following this success, the role was expanded to Birmingham International, Carlisle, and Stafford stations.
These officers are responsible for separating waste from customer bins, staff areas, and tenants, ensuring items are properly sorted for recycling. The waste is categorised into dry mixed recycling, food, glass, and general waste before being sent to a materials recovery facility for further sorting.
Melanie Hockenhull, Head of Sustainability at Avanti West Coast, said: "We're committed to reducing our impact on the environment and recycling is a key activity to help achieve this. Working with SWRnewstar to have Waste Segregation Officers in place at our stations is the most impactful way we can improve our recycling rates."
The initiative has led to significant improvements in recycling rates. At Birmingham International station, the recycling rate increased from 31 per cent in May 2023 to 71 per cent in May 2024, marking the highest rate among the four stations with Waste Segregation Officers.
Avanti West Coast selected these four stations in collaboration with SWRnewstar, targeting locations with high waste volumes and low recycling levels.
Recently, the initiative has expanded to include the segregation of coffee cups at all four locations, with around 30,000 cups being collected every two weeks.
The train operator aims to reduce, reuse or recycle 60 per cent of waste at its 16 managed stations by March 2025.
George Tilley, Corporate Account Manager at SWRnewstar, commented: "Avanti West Coast have proven that through targeted investment, and a collaborative partnership with their waste service provider they're able to improve their recycling rates even in the most challenging of environments."
Avanti West Coast plans to roll out the Waste Segregation Officer role to three more stations by March 2025.