Travellers by road and rail have been amazed to see huge piles of old railway sleepers being burnt after being replaced by concrete along the line between Euroa and Seymour.

The Gazette has previously published articles informing members of the public that it is illegal to remove old wooden sleepers from railway property. VicTrack representatives have stated that any suitable for building or garden use have already been sold, and so individuals caught taking any for farm or garden use will be prosecuted for trespassing and theft. Any wood that was found to be rotten and unsuitable for recycling, they said, would be burnt.

It is true that, in some places, the sleepers have been neatly stacked and look as though they are ready for pick-up by buyers. However, it is also true that many are being carted off to designated areas to be piled up and burnt. The question is, if it can be burnt, why is it not being cut up and sold as firewood, or donated as such to volunteer organisations such as Legacy?

If the wood is not so rotten that it disintegrates when it is removed from the railway track, then it is firm enough to be recycled in a more useful manner, for example as firewood or in landscaping. If it is going to be burnt, at least it could be in warming someone up from their loungeroom fire instead of wasting precious energy and contributing to greenhouse gases out in the paddocks.