Bradford Council is the first local authority in the region to ask contractors to use recycled plastic to repair its roads.
The Council’s Highway Maintenance North Team is using over 2000 tonnes of a special asphalt which contains around 10 tonnes of recycled plastic to resurface roads around Keighley and Shipley.
The material is manufactured by Scottish company, MacRebur, which processes waste plastics which would have ended up in landfill or incinerators.
Not only does the plastic reduce the volume of bitumen in the mix, it actually makes it more durable.
The material reduces the environmental impact of resurfacing - for every tonne of asphalt laid, 5kg of waste plastic is stopped from going to landfill or incineration and an average of 7.75kg of carbon dioxide is saved.
The asphalt is also made up of 95% steel slag, a by-product of the steel making process, eliminating the need for quarried aggregate.
The material is manufactured to very high standards at temperatures over 150C to ensure plastic particles cannot be released into the environment.
The plastic becomes integrated into the asphalt mix and can be recycled again and again.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “We have a duty to reduce waste and tackle climate change which is having a devastating effect on our planet.
“Using this innovative product is a positive step in terms of decarbonising our operations. We will continue to work with suppliers and contractors to ensure that using materials like this becomes standard practice.”
MacRebur’s Director of Operations, Gordon Reid, said: “After first approaching us several years ago, I am delighted that supply chain difficulties have now been overcome and Bradford can finally introduce our product into their road resurfacing schemes.”
Lee Birkbeck, Regional Commercial Director at SteelPhalt, said: “We have worked closely with MacRebur over the last couple of years and we are now able to offer asphalt products that will help customers to decarbonise and meet their climate change targets. Bradford Council are the first highway authority in Yorkshire to specify this particular range of asphalt for local road resurfacing which should deliver notable benefits to its communities and the environment.”
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