NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ —  One of the eight large railroads that operate in the United States will buy $15 million worth of recycled plastic railroad ties from Axion International.

Axion, which makes composite building products and railroad ties from recycled plastic, has also built plastic bridges for the U.S. Army.

The railroad involved in the deal isn't disclosing it's name, but it's one of the eight Class 1 railroads that have tracks in the U.S.

Per the three-year deal, the railroad will buy $5 million worth of ties a year. Although the railroad would not disclose what amount of its overall tie purchases that represents, Axion president and CEO Steve Silverman said it makes up a "very small percentage."

The ties will be used to replace old wood ties. Axion said railroads in the U.S. buy about 20 million ties a year for maintenance. Axion's ties are made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), taken from things like detergent bottles or car parts, and the company boasts they won't leach, warp or get infected by insects. They're also lighter than wood ties.

The company has so far put more than 200,000 ties into service, some of which have been monitored for over 12 years by the American Association of Railroads.

It is also in the process of building a third bridge for the U.S. Army, at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The previous two bridges were built at Fort Eustis in Virginia and have been in use for over a year.

Axion will make the grand majority of the bridge's parts from recycled plastic. The only non-plastic parts will be stainless steel fasteners and poured concrete for the bridge approaches.

_{Railroad - CC license by Russ Nelson (Flickr)}