Plastic Crisis: Responsible Recycling Within Military Railroad Infrastructure

Plastic usage has reached unprecedented levels worldwide, and plastic waste disposal has likewise risen from a matter of concern among industrialized nations to a crisis level across the globe. One potential solution is to repurpose or recycle plastic into civil infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to perform a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) style assessment of recycled plastic railroad ties for military use and the associated effects on military transportation. Recycled plastic has some potential advantages over traditional treated wood for the manufacture of railroad ties, but it also has variable material behavior characteristics. Data provided in this paper show changes both in dimension and in material properties with temperature for recycled plastic and composite railroad ties. Surface temperatures on crossties exceeding 50°F higher than outside air temperatures further explain the gage issues observed throughout U.S. Department of Defense railroad tracks. General trends in tie performance were noted which included seasonal variation in gage, temperature-dependent ductility, and lower load-carrying capacity than wooden ties. These data indicate a need for clear performance specifications to prevent post-installation track usage problems which can affect military readiness and response times and therefore national security.