Recycling a Precious Commodity: Engine Oil

A lot of people are surprised when they learn that shipping freight by rail is the most environmentally-friendly way to move goods on land. For those of us in the environmental department here at CSX, it's no surprise – and a great source of pride.

It's not only what we do that helps the environment, but how we do it. CSX employees are committed to maximizing the positive impact that the company has on the environment. How? Technology and innovation. You may wonder how innovative a 180-year old industry can be, but I see it every day.

Throughout our network, we work to find ways to reuse or recycle just about everything that we use, right down to the oil in our locomotives. The oil we put in our locomotives keeps them running smoothly and moving freight along the network, but every 92 days as part of our routine inspections, we check the oil level and quality and add to it or change it as needed. What do we do with the oil we remove? Well, in an effort to reduce our energy needs, we have replaced 77 of our boilers in buildings throughout the network with oil-burning heaters and now heat these facilities with used locomotive oil. So now, that oil keeps our engines running smoothly and then keeps our buildings warm and inviting.

That's just one example of innovation on the railroad that is helping to make us more environmentally-friendly every day. The environment team is hard at work, whittling away at our company's environmental footprint. Keep an eye out for what is to come!