Recycled Tyres for Sustainable Roads

July 18, 2023

Alex Fraser was honoured to join forces with Major Road Projects Victoria, ecologiQ, Seymour Whyte, NTRO – the National Transport Research Organisation, Tyre Stewardship Australia and Entyr to demonstrate the use of recovered carbon black (rCB) in asphalt to build greener roads for Victoria.

The Pound Road West Upgrade was the first Victorian major project to trial the use of Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) – a recovered carbon product made from end-of-life tyres used as a carbon saving substitute for limestone needed to produce asphalt – paving the way for greener roads across Victoria.

A 500m section of Pound Road West is the first Victorian road to be built with a ‘Green Roads’ asphalt mix containing rCB

A 500m section of the Pound Road West Upgrade is the first Victorian road to be built with a high-recycled content ‘Green Roads’ asphalt mix containing rCB.

‘rCB’ has been engineered to be a sustainable alternative to fine ground limestone in asphalt; its use reduces the reliance on mining natural resources and the carbon emissions associated with the extraction, production, cartage and use of these limestone products.

Alex Fraser worked collaboratively with an innovative and enthusiastic team of industry leaders from Seymour Whyte Constructors, Major Road Projects Victoria, ecologiQ, NTRO, Tyre Stewardship Australia and Entyr to bring the ‘recycled tyres for sustainable roads’ trial to fruition – the accumulation of many months of research, planning and innovation design championed by the industry collaborative.

Alex Fraser Managing Director Peter Murphy said the collaborative efforts of industry leaders has enabled Victoria to innovate material use to build greener infrastructure.

“The ‘recycled tyres for sustainable roads’ trial on the Pound Road West Upgrade is an exciting ‘first’ for Victoria and a prime example of what can be achieved when our industry’s innovators work together on infrastructure sustainability.”

Major Road Projects Victoria Director Program Services and Engineering Alexis Davison has commended the collaboration for being at the forefront with the inclusion of new recycled products.

Seymour Whyte Project Manager David Keegan and Alex Fraser Asphalt GM Brendan Camilleri joined forces to incorporate rCB into a major road project.

“We were excited to collaborate with some of Australia’s leaders in sustainable road construction as part of this trial, which presents a great opportunity to make long-term environmental advances in our industry.”

“Progressing the use of innovative recycled products like the example at Pound Road made from recycled tyres is key to transitioning Victoria’s transport infrastructure sector towards a circular economy where procuring fit for purpose recycled products is business as usual.”

rCB is being used as a sustainable alternative to fine ground limestone in asphalt production.

Alex Fraser’s Asphalt GM Brendan Camilleri joined forces with Seymour Whyte’s Project Manager David Keegan on the Pound Road West Upgrade Project with the goal of innovating their infrastructure sustainability practice through the use of emerging recycled materials, culminating in six months of research, development and planning to trial the incorporation of rCB from recycled tyres into a major road project.

The team were focused on delivering a high-quality pavement and a valuable community asset with as little disruption as possible to the local community. Wearing course works were completed at night to minismise disruption to the surrounding community. To improve rideability, a shuttle buggy was utilised to enable longer and uninterrupted runs, achieving a superior pavement with less construction joints. The project was completed ahead of schedule in June 2023.

Asphalting works on the remainder of the Pound Road West Upgrade Project were completed with a ‘Green Roads’ asphalt containing up to 40 per cent recycled asphalt product.

Using ‘Green Roads Construction Materials’ on Pound Road West has:

• Reused 2,287 tonnes of waste glass – ~11.5 million glass bottles,
• Recycled 10,334 total tonnes of waste – diverting ~82,383 wheelie bins from landfill, and
• Reduced carbon emissions by approximately 291,665kg.