Recycled Plastic Applied In Composite Railroad Ties

The recycler Granite Peak Plastics has announced the launch of Triton Ties to manufacture a carbon fiber-reinforced railroad tie. The companies will be co-located and operated by the same leadership team.

According to the company, the extrusion process is fed by automated feeding systems for each component, enabling tight process control. Triton projects that the products should have a useful life of around 50 years, and will be impervious to many of the problems associated with traditional wooden ties,such as rot, moisture and insects.

“I'm extremely proud of this team and the Triton tie,” says Greg Janson, CEO at both Granite Peak Plastics and Triton Ties. “We've worked hard to engineer a process and product that addresses the shortfalls of composites that went before us. This product has superior fatigue endurance and hits the sweet spot of performance and cost. A true one-for-one replacement for wood, Triton Ties will save billions of dollars over their lifetime when installed at scale. And, because we are committed to using recycled plastic, Triton Ties will also create demand for massive quantities of scrap plastic, keeping it out of our landfills, waterways and oceans. It's a triple win — performance, profit and planet.”