Triton Group and TenCate are partnering to establish an end-of-life pathway for synthetic turf by incorporating recovered plastic into composite railroad ties. Announced on October 20, 2026, the agreement also involves iSustain, which helped connect the companies.
Triton plans to establish processing capacity of up to 350,000 pounds of recovered turf plastic per month. At full utilization, the operation could process as much as 21 million pounds over five years, equivalent to material recovered from an estimated 600 to 800 turf fields. The companies expect this volume to provide enough recycled feedstock for more than 300,000 composite railroad ties.
The recovered plastic will be used in Triton Tie, a glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite designed to replace conventional wooden railroad ties. According to Triton, the product is engineered to meet or exceed standards established by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) and has been approved by all major U.S. railroads.
Under the agreement, TenCate will collect retired synthetic turf and separate the sand and rubber infill before baling and transporting the remaining material to Triton. Triton will use its processing system to remove residual rubber, sand and backing materials before converting the recovered plastic into a consistent post-consumer polyethylene resin for manufacturing.
Greg Janson, president and CEO of Triton Group, said the incoming material would be processed using equipment configured specifically for the feedstock. The separation process removes rubber, sand and backing materials before pelletization, allowing clean polyethylene resin to be incorporated into the railroad ties. Triton is targeting April 1, 2027, to begin processing TenCate-supplied material following the completion of a new production line.
The partnership also targets the environmental burden associated with disposing of retired turf and using creosote-treated wood in railway infrastructure. According to company estimates, replacing 300,000 wooden ties with composite alternatives could avoid nearly one million gallons of creosote and preserve approximately 75,000 hardwood trees. These figures represent projected benefits at the anticipated scale, rather than outcomes already achieved through the partnership.
TenCate’s existing material recovery activities include recovering rubber infill for reuse, evaluating recycled content in new turf products and developing recycling capabilities in the United States. The collaboration provides a potential large-volume application for recovered polyethylene while expanding the recycled feedstock options available for durable composite infrastructure products.
By connecting retired turf materials with railroad tie manufacturing, the partnership aims to create a new market for recovered plastics that can otherwise be difficult to reuse at scale.
Source: Triton Group | News
