In an Australian first, Blue Mountains City Council will use leading edge technology to recycle its roads, saving ratepayers money and to protecting the environment. Council agreed to the purchase of a German-made asphalt recycling unit which will re-use an estimated 1,000 tonnes of asphalt per year.
Blue Mountains Mayor, Jim Angel, said the unit will eventually save ratepayers thousands of dollars each year.
“The long term cost savings by recycling material and stockpiling for re-use could be in the order of $300,000 over five years,” Councillor Angel said. “Council currently purchases around 3,000 tonnes of asphalt every year.
“Equally important are the environmental savings in keeping this material out of landfill. With this plant Council will now re-use asphalt from roads and car parks, which is presently disposed of in Council tips. By recycling of this material we will substantially reduce landfill in our tip sites and thereby extend the life of the Council’s landfill facilities.”
Recycling and relaying of asphalt can be done on site. This reduces truck movements in the Blue Mountains Local Government area, saving additional costs of labour, fuel and wear and tear on vehicles.European contractors have been using the German engineers Bagela for 15 years and there are currently around 37 machines operating in the USA, but this is believed to be the first in Australia.
“Recycling wherever we can is part of Council’s philosophy of planning for a sustainable future,” Councillor Angel said. “It is in keeping with our aim to continuously improve our environmental performance, as outlined in Council’s ISO 14001 Environment Management System, and it reduces costs.”
The Bagela BA 7000F Asphalt Recycler will be purchased for the sum of $121,772. Council has also agreed to specialised training for staff.
