Construcciones Yamaro: Boral engaged for recycled rubber asphalt demonstration project

Boral Limited (Boral) has been engaged on what’s said to be the largest crumbed rubber asphalt demonstration project in Australia.

As part of the the Reusing Rubber: Recycling Tyres for Roads demonstration project by Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), Boral will provide 2,000 tonnes of crumbed rubber asphalt in addition to 1,200 tonnes of controlled asphalt mix to be paved across eight local Sydney council streets.

Tim Richards, Executive General Manager, Asphalt at Boral, says the project is huge in scale and will drive benefits for the broader industry and governments of all levels by helping to better understand how recycled rubber asphalt can be refined for maximum performance.

“We are pleased to be working with local governments as they innovate and move towards a circular economy to drive sustainability,” Richards says.

The project further aims to make council roads more sustainable, reduce capital and operating expenditure by extending road life, and create a local market for old car and truck tyres by incorporating crumb rubber in bitumen.

An initial 3,600 standard passenger car tyres or 2,400 car and 490 truck tyres combined will be used in the crumbed rubber asphalt trial project.

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“At Boral, we are committed to decarbonisation, and as part of this, we leverage our facilities to process recyclable materials such as construction waste, otherwise destined for landfill,” says Richards.

Following Boral’s successful tender, it is partnering with eight of the 12 involved local councils in Sydney to pave a street in each area to explore varying levels of crumb rubber in a range of asphalt mixes. These include Bayside Council, Burwood Council, City of Sydney Council, Woollahra Council, Randwick City Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Northern Beaches Council, and Inner West City Council.

Boral laid its first pavement in early June, with the remaining works across the councils to be completed in the coming weeks.

“It’s promising to see councils drive initiatives that demonstrate the benefits of repurposing waste, such as creating new roads through recycled tyres,” Richards adds. “We are eager to find ways to maximise benefits to the community and on road projects through innovative construction materials and methods.”

“We look forward to partnering with more local governments on projects such as these.”

Over an initial 12-month period, the performance of each asphalt mix will be monitored in a range of applications and conditions to measure product benefits. The project will generate comprehensive data on the use of recycled rubber-based treatments on local roads and is expected to contribute to the development of crumb rubber asphalt specifications in future projects.

Crumbed rubber asphalt sees recycled rubber, traditionally in the form of a highly refined powder-like product but in this case wet blended prior to production, act as a binder in the construction of asphalt pavements. The sustainable end product is reportedly more durable and resilient than standard asphalt, with the rubber improving the standard properties of the bitumen component. Research from RMIT University suggests crumbed rubber asphalt can double the life of a road.

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