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More rubber to hit roads

Tyres processed by Tyrecycle are all recycled to create commodities for use as raw materials.

The first large-scale crumb rubber asphalt trial is in the works on an arterial road in Melbourne. If successful, it could allow the specification for use of recycled crumb rubber in asphalt applications.

A research trial to determine optimal levels of recycled crumb rubber content within the asphalt of newly constructed Australian roads will soon begin in Victoria.

Aimed at establishing consistent technical specifications for waste tyre use in the construction of Australian roads, the trial is expected to further increase confidence in the procurement chain for tyre crumb and open the market to further demand.

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), in collaboration with Victoria’s Department for Transport, has commissioned the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to conduct the two-year research trial.

The trial will be see a literal road test of at least six industry-supplied asphalt variations laid consecutively on a 1.5-kilometre section of road in Melbourne’s Bentleigh East, including two vehicle lanes, parking and cycling.

The results will assess technical specifications of the rubber-containing asphalt mix emissions resulting from the construction process and the overall performance of the finished surface.

Jim Fairweather, CEO of major tyre recycler Tyrecycle, says the company has a good working relationship with ARRB and is very happy to support the trial with the crumb rubber feedstock.

“Adopting standardised specifications has the potential to drive further confidence in decision makers such as engineers and government procurement departments, and boost market demand for remanufactured end-of-life tyres,” Mr. Fairweather says.

“It’s staggering to think that of the 450,000 tonnes of tyres the TSA estimates reach their end-of-life every year in Australia, only nine per cent are currently being reused, recycled or recovered.”

Tyres processed by Tyrecycle are all recycled to create commodities for use as raw materials in the manufacturing of new products.

A significant proportion of these materials are already used in civil work such as road construction, along with soft-fall sporting applications, adhesives and alternative fuel.

“Because large-format truck tyres and passenger vehicle tyres each contain differing levels of natural and synthetic rubber, processing them into crumb requires different machinery and yields a different remanufactured product,” Mr. Fairweather says.

“Setting standard industry specifications for minimum quantities of natural rubber to be contained within the crumb has the potential to drive further confidence in the use of crumb rubber, which in turn can open further market opportunities for its use.”

Given the technology and capacity to remanufacture tyre waste already exists in Australia, Mr. Fairweather says these products are ready for development now and the market for crumb rubber simply needs to reach reliable levels of demand.

“A large proportion of our nation’s waste tyres continue to be baled and exported whole to developing countries.

“This is a practice that Tyrecycle opposes because it bears unacceptable environmental and health outcomes,” Mr. Fairweather says.

“We already have the technology and capacity to remanufacture the tyres currently being exported. We just need the increased demand.

“Given road construction is one of our nation’s biggest capital investments and is the largest current market for tyre crumb, it’s an economic, environmental and ethical no brainer,” he says.

“Any delay in implementing a ban on the export of whole baled tyres is a missed opportunity.

“By taking responsibility for our own tyre waste, we unburden the developing world of the health and environmental impacts of our waste, while creating local jobs and generating further investment in domestic infrastructure,” Mr. Fairweather says.

The use of tyre crumb in road asphalt is not a new concept in Australia, or other parts of the world. Parts of Europe, South Africa and US have used rubberised asphalt for decades.

New standards are expected to simplify the application of different types of tyre crumb for various uses.

In 2003 the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated more than 12 million end-of-life tyres are remanufactured into asphalt and spray seals each year.

Florida and California introduced strict requirements for the use of remanufactured end-of-life tyres in road construction, including minimum percentage content for natural rubber, which has been shown to aid noise reduction, drainage and durability.

Currently no Australian state or territory specifies the need to use recycled rubber, or places limitations on the quantity of synthetic rubber used in road construction.

With natural and synthetic rubber concentrations significantly altering the final asphalt product, Mr. Fairweather thinks this new trial will seek to ascertain optimum levels for specific civil applications and set industry minimum specifications.

He says this is important because Australian passenger vehicle tyres differ from large-format truck and industrial tyres with different percentages of natural and synthetic rubber and metal.

In passenger tyres, textile elements and paracrystalline forms of carbon are present.

“Australia’s manufacturing capacity currently outweighs the demand for crumb rubber in roads, so the key is increasing market demand,” Mr. Fairweather says.

New standards are expected to simplify the application of different types of tyre crumb for various uses, creating an additional resource that is expected to increase the uptake of tyre crumb in road construction.

“Domestic consumer demand for the product and positive government procurement policies are now needed to drive the market sustainability conditions that encourage further investment,” he says.

Last year the Victorian Government committed to a “recyclables first” social procurement policy, using its considerable purchasing power to drive demand for local recycled products and Mr. Fairweather hopes other governments will follow suit in adopting ambitious targets.

“This type of proactive policy is vital to establish a circular economy where we are ultimately self-reliant in reprocessing and remanufacturing our waste into new commodities, and that includes end-of-life tyres.”

Mr. Fairweather believes government regulation accompanied by strong procurement policies have the potential to facilitate access to Australia’s $600 billion annual procurement value.

“Market certainty is a significant trigger for private operators like us to confidently expand investments in building remanufacturing facilities and embracing emerging technologies,” he says.

He says this will encourage investment and innovation, create new jobs in waste processing and remanufacturing, and will be critical to ensuring the growth of the Australian recycling industry.

Tyrecycle, a division of remanufacturer Resource Co, operates nine secure processing facilities across the country, including one of Australia’s largest crumbing plants in Somerton, Victoria.

“We will continue to invest in infrastructure that enables us to responsibly process more end-of-life tyres in an ethical and environmentally sound way.

“That includes recent investment in tyre remanufacturing facilities in Tasmania and building increased capability in our Somerton plant in Victoria,” Mr. Fairweather says.

“Trials like the one in Victoria are a crucial step in building industry confidence, as are procurement policies and the upcoming ban on the export of whole baled tyres.

“Get it right and everyone wins.”


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