Tyre Stewardship Australia is working with local councils across Australia to transform the way roads are built. Together they are exploring innovative methods to increase the use of crumb rubber while enhancing performance and championing sustainability.
Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) is leading one of the most aggressive transformations of the roads market globally. Its strategy is as simple as it is transformational: change the specifications, create potential demand, demonstrate the benefits and enable supply.
TSA Chief Executive Officer, Lina Goodman argues a strong roads market is a key component of a strong tyre resource recovery sector. Tyres service the roads industry, she adds, so finding beneficial uses for end-of-life tyres in roads infrastructure incentivises industry take-up.
Goodman says TSA’s mission is clear: to increase the use of crumb rubber exponentially across all sectors in Australia – and local councils have a critical role to play.
“With 85 per cent of roads managed by local councils and significantly more low traffic roads found nationally, local government procurement power is critical to using resources like crumb rubber – created from the millions of used tyres generated in Australia each year – to create a better performing, longer lasting Australian road network,” Goodman explains.
“Local governments can carry real influence in the circular economy, so TSA is keen to partner with as many councils across Australia as possible.”
TSA has provided almost $500,000 in funding over two years to local councils and other eligible organisations to use crumb rubber in low traffic asphalt roads across Australia.
Having already committed more than $6 million to developing new uses for end-of-life tyres since TSA’s inception, the Low Traffic Crumb Rubber Road Fund (the Fund) seeks to further increase local markets for recycled Australian tyre product.
Seven projects were approved under this initiative, with councils receiving grants of between $25,000 and $85,000 for low traffic crumb rubber local roads.
The quality of the applications was so high, TSA increased the funding pool to meet the growing and quality demand of applicants.
Crumb rubber has been routinely used in spray seal roads around Australia, particularly in Victoria, for many decades. However, this fund aims to increase crumb rubber uptake in low traffic asphalt roads and demonstrate the benefits of crumb rubber asphalt across a range of differing Australian road conditions.
In late 2019, the Victorian Department of Transport released its Light Traffic Crumb Rubber Asphalt Specification to provide a framework to facilitate more formal use of crumb rubber modified asphalt mixes in low traffic roads.
The specifications highlight a national push for local governments and road authorities to broaden the beneficial use of crumb rubber asphalt from ‘traditional uses’ in high traffic roads with higher rubber modifier content, to more diverse uses in low traffic roads with lower rubber modifying content.
TSA’s fund aims to implement these new specifications, while progressing the development of low traffic road specifications in other state and territories.
“Through these local government partnerships and projects, we’re clearly demonstrating how crumb rubber improves the performance, longevity and environmental impacts of Australian roads,” Goodman says.
“We’re also striving to strengthen road supply chains and build scale economies so that crumb rubber roads are accepted as the reliable and cost competitive option.”
Goodman says councils who are accredited with TSA and are working on these projects are establishing a vital step in terms of ensuring sustainable management of used tyres, along with the opportunity to drive commercial viability of new improved tyre products to deliver better public infrastructure to their communities.
One of the fund’s projects paving the way to a more sustainable future is underway in Meander Valley, in Tasmania’s north.
More than 1240 end-of-life truck tyres will be diverted from landfill and mixed with the equivalent of 40,000 beer bottles of recycled glass to produce crumb rubber asphalt in the ground-breaking project in a partnership between Council, construction giant Fulton Hogan and TSA.
Six councils across Tasmania will take part in the demonstration project: Meander Valley, Central Highlands, Dorset, George Town, Sorell and Tasman.
TSA provided more than $85,000 through the Fund across the lifespan of the project to support additional costs relative to the installation of a conventional road. Fulton Hogan will cover the cost of the transportation and supply of a portable blending facility, providing councils across Tasmania the opportunity to utilise crumb rubber technology in both spray-seal and asphalt applications.
Meander Valley Mayor Wayne Johnston says road surfacing treatments are typically comprised of quarried rock and petroleum-based products.
“By incorporating waste and recyclables we are reducing our reliance on finite materials and reducing waste to landfill. It’s about taking a waste stream – in this instance, used tyres – through to an environmentally beneficial product to build infrastructure of critical value.”
Goodman adds that TSA is thrilled to see demonstration projects like this one being rolled out across Tasmania, WA, Victoria and Queensland – projects at a local level which we believe have benefits for the whole road construction sector.
“We would love to extend these projects and see greater uptake with our partners in NSW too,” she says.
Funded projects must demonstrate collaborative partnerships between industry, research bodies and end users.
Successful applicants will commit to purchasing crumb rubber-modified asphalt from a contractor sourcing from a TSA-accredited crumb rubber supplier and quantify the benefits of the installation of a crumb rubber low traffic road.
All TSA-funded infrastructure and demonstration projects require Australian generated tyre derived products to be utilised for the lifetime of the project and associated infrastructure.
To learn more about these projects email TSA at getonboard@tyrestewardship.org.au
Related stories:
- TSA opens EOIs for low traffic crumb rubber road fund
- TSA and ARRB trial crumb rubber asphalt
- Tyre Stewardship Australia outlines its 2020-2023 strategy