Oxford,
06
December
2018
|
13:47
Europe/London

Recycled tarmac saves £2million of tax payer’s money

An innovative project that has seen almost 20,000 tonnes of recycled tarmac used to fix 10 kilometres of Oxfordshire’s roads has won a prestigious environmental award.

The joint project between Skanska and the county council received the Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice for recycling 19,084 tonnes of old road that would have otherwise gone to landfill, resulting in a 300-tonne reduction in our carbon footprint and saving £2million of taxpayer’s money.

The annual Green Apple Environment awards recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world.

Getting to the core of the problem

Resurfacing roads generates significant waste material, but thanks to our innovative partnership with Aggregate Industries, Stabilised Pavements Ltd and OCL, the materials were used to sustainably reconstruct and reshape damaged roads.

As well as fixing Oxfordshire’s roads to a high standard so they are safe for road users, making use of the mountain of worn-out tarmac also contributed to a significant reduction in the council’s annual hazardous waste disposal costs.

Some of the roads to be fixed with the recycled tarmac include the A338 towards Garford, the A4095 at Curbridge and several roads in the village of Wiggington.

To put the scale of the recycled materials into context, 20,000 tonnes is almost twice as heavy as The Eiffel Tower, and about 3,500 times heavier than an elephant.

Sweet partnership provides value for money

Declan Moss, who oversaw the project from start to finish, was chuffed with the award: “We are delighted to receive this award and it just goes to show how beneficial the partnership between Skanska and Oxfordshire County Council can be. Working together with other local partners, we’ve been able to turn potential waste into good as new road surfacing.”

Owen Jenkins, Director for Infrastructure Operations, said: “We are always looking at ways to make the most out of our resources, and this successful project is just one way we are using modern techniques to provide value for tax payer’s money.”