CSX facility minimizes waste

Freight railroad firm CSX is mindful of what it can reuse and recycle, according to the Florida Recycling Partnership.

Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX operates a locomotive refitting shop in Huntington, Florida, where older locomotives are rebuilt.

According to the Florida Recycling Partnership, the primary task at the plant is to disassemble older locomotives and rebuild them into ones that are "equipped with the latest technology to be safer, more reliable and fuel efficient."

While doing so, CSX employees remove nearly every component of the locomotive, inspect each piece and repair or replace as necessary. The old cab is removed and is cut into smaller pieces sold as scrap metal.

The engine is removed and rebuilt to meet EPA emissions standards while the locomotive body, frame and other large components are cleaned, inspected and qualified. Traction motors and wheel assemblies also are inspected and overhauled for reuse.

While many of the components are refurbished and reused to repair other locomotives, those that can’t be reused and sold as scrap. 

“CSX knows that by recycling the company can reduce costs and minimize the impact on the environment,” says the Florida Recycling Partnership.