Tyre and road building bodies team up*

A crumb rubber asphalt road laid this year at the Gold Coast, Queensland.

Australia’s end-of-life tyre management challenge and our need for improved and increasing road infrastructure could be two elements of a new green economic cycle.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) and the Australian Asphalt Paving Association (AAPA) are joining forces to deliver greater industry knowledge around the use of recycled tyre rubber in both bitumen sprayed seals and asphalt for roads.

The objective is to provide road builders and local government authorities with the confidence to specify both products as part of their regular road building and maintenance programs.

Through a series of short-course workshops, beginning in August this year, TSA and AAPA will outline best practice and the latest technological developments in road maintenance and building using recycled crumbed rubber.

The course will outline the performance benefits of rubber modified bitumen, when applied as spray seal, and provide both domestic and international examples of successful applications.

The information provided on both processes will draw upon well-established best practice in the Australian market and recently introduced technologies based on international experience in similar conditions, such as in California and South Africa.

One of the core objectives of the short-course is to provide authorities with the tools to create the technical specification for crumbed rubber road products to be used in their jurisdictions.

Erik Denneman, Director Technology and Leadership of AAPA encouraged local government authorities to have their relevant engineers and administrators attend the sessions.

“This is a great opportunity to learn how others have successfully delivered more durable road surfacing through use of crumbed rubber and how to specify the best solutions for each individual case.”

Adding to that Liam O’Keefe, Market Development Manager for TSA said, “If we can increase knowledge and arrive at a triple benefit of great roads with a better whole-of-life cost, whilst making an impact on a challenging sustainability issue, we will have significantly moved the needle towards a truly circular economy.”

To be able to register your interest in these tech talk sessions go to www.aapa.asn.au/crumb-rubber-tech-talk/

*Copy supplied by Tyre Stewardship Australia