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Trenitalia Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato
Sustainability on the move
Intercity kids: an inclusive educational area that promotes cultural growth and environmental awareness
INTERCITY Kids is an educational area aimed at families with children from 3 to 12 years old that promotes virtuous behaviours through play, allowing them to discover the richness of Italy's natural, cultural and artistic heritage.
The educational areas will have five different variations, all with dual themes: aquatic biodiversity-art; biodiversity on land-architecture; biodiversity in the sky-music; biodiversity below the ground-science and technology; agricultural biodiversity-food.
It is an inclusive space that offers games and activities suitable for children of different ages and with different abilities, including those in wheelchairs. The texts also have different reading levels and are accessible to all school-age children. In addition, the typeface used has been chosen specifically to facilitate reading, especially for children with dyslexia.
INTERCITY Kids has been designed by the ilVespaio ecodesign studio, taking the entire life cycle into account: the set-up is easy to disassemble so that it can be repaired and, at the end of its life, the different components and materials can be separated to send them for recycling. Around 99% of the materials used are recyclable.
In keeping with the railway sector's strict safety standards, recycled and recyclable materials were selected, giving preference to Italian companies:
- the structures are made of aluminium, a material that can be recycled indefinitely and which in Italy is mostly sourced from recovered and recycled material;
- the carpet is made of regenerated nylon derived from waste such as fishing nets, fabric discards, used rugs and industrial plastic;
- the fabrics used for the poufs are made of recycled polyester derived from recycled plastic bottles;
- the toy trains that run along the tracks are made of recycled polyethylene derived from industrial discards and recycled waste.
At present, only the Intercity Kids area prototype is available. The area will be implemented on the new incoming IC trains by June 2026.
And when a paper ticket is needed, we print it on environmentally friendly paper
When printing traditional paper tickets, Trenitalia uses paper certified according to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), a respected international non-governmental organisation, which ensures the use of paper produced with cellulose coming exclusively from responsibly managed forests, or from post-consumer recycling.
Cleaning on board
Also when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting its trains, Trenitalia puts great effort into ensuring maximum levels of hygiene while respecting the environment.
The companies that carry out the cleaning are in possession of the ISO 14001 environmental certification, as are all the companies that supply the chemicals, materials and equipment. The cleaning techniques used are state-of-the-art and make it possible to optimise water consumption. Most of the products bear the European Union's Ecolabel and are super concentrated, i.e. only diluted at the time of use, guaranteeing less production of packaging waste and lower consumption in the procurement phases.
The new sanitation measures introduced to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus infection have also been designed and created to protect the environment around us as much as possible.
Catering
When drawing up the new catering service, a high priority was given to the question of sustainability and to finding solutions that embraced the principles of the circular economy.
The criteria for choosing the materials and packaging used as part of the catering service focused on recyclability and the presence of recycled raw materials.
Examples of this include the new bottles made of 100% recycled plastic (RPET), which are perfectly recyclable, the foodboxes made of 100% recycled paper with the FSC label and the agreements made to avoid food waste.
We are working to do our part, with the awareness that the road to sustainability is long and requires constant commitment.
WHAT IS R-PET?
- R-PET is a plastic that’s suitable for food contact,
- ideal for producing water bottles,
- a single completely recyclable material thanks to which every bottle can enjoy a new life (bottle to bottle).
R-PET PROPERTIES:
- Recycled and recyclable
- Safe and hygienic
- Suitable for use with food
- Lightweight and unbreakable
After use, help us to make sure that this plastic has a chance to become a new recycled and re-recyclable bottle, guaranteeing bottle to bottle:
- on board, you can give the bottle to the catering staff who are committed to recycling correctly in the waste collection centres at the stations
- after leaving the train, use the “Ecocompactors”: waste bins specially for the collection of aluminium and plastic bottles, located at the top of the platforms in major stations
We are working to ensure that all the paper on board is FSC or PEFC certified, guaranteeing that it comes from forests that are controlled and managed responsibly.
On board we are working to improve separate waste collection with a view to including visually impaired people. To this end, communication will be improved by inserting clearer logos on the recycling bins in the bar area and in the vestibules (the areas where the in/out doors are located).
We are committed to bringing the waste collected on board to the collection centres at the stations, in order to separate them in the most appropriate way.
Agreements with NGOs to reduce food waste
With the aim of reducing food waste, excess food that is still suitable for consumption is not thrown away but rather donated to associations that distribute it to the most needy people.