DB Cargo runs regular waste-dedicated rail freight connection between Germany and Denmark
DB Cargo Scandinavia, the Denmark-based subsidiary of DB Cargo, has found a new type of freight for its wagonload service. The rail freight operator arranged a regular connection between Denmark and Germany for moving waste. In particular, the service is dedicated to the transport of aluminium cans, which are delivered to the recycling facility in Germany.
In November 2021 DB Cargo Scandinavia launched a test rail freight connection from eastern Denmark to central Germany. With a help of a single wagon service, it began to move reusable aluminium cans from Høje-Taastrup to Nachterstedt. Starting from January 2022, the connection has been running regularly twice a week. Now, the rail freight operator is considering ways to intensify and speed up this wagonload service.
The Denmark-Germany waste-dedicated connection was arranged by DB Cargo Scandinavia for Dansk Retursystem, the Danish non-profit company that operates the country’s deposit system for bottles and cans. Previously, it transported aluminium cans to the Novelis Aluminium Recycling Plant in Nachterstedt, which is owned by Novelis, a well-known American aluminium rolling and recycling company, by trucks. By joining forces with DB Cargo and shifting its shipments from roads to rails, Dansk Retursystem has succeeded to reduce its carbon footprint by 75 per cent when moving freight from Denmark to Germany.