The work was carried out by Breedon Group in collaboration with Eurovia and Bear Scotland on behalf of an investment made by Transport Scotland.
A road planer was used to remove the existing road surface along a one kilometre length of the A92 and then the planings were transported to a special waste ‘quarantine’ zone at Breedon’s Clatchard quarry near Newburgh. The material was reprocessed using Eurovia’s Recofoam technology. The recycled material was then returned to the A92 and used as a base layer for the newly-resurfaced road.
The recycled ‘foam mix’ is produced by expanding the bitumen via contact with small amounts of water under carefully controlled conditions, then mixing the foamed bitumen with the planings removed from the existing road. The process produces a fully compliant recycled material, allowing reuse within the new road construction. The resulting product incorporates up to 85 per cent recycled materials and reduces CO2 emissions by around 50%, said Breedon.
Breedon Northern managing director Alan Mackenzie said: “This is only the second time that the Recofoam technology has been used in Scotland and it has proven its value as the most sustainable way of reprocessing worn-out asphalt. It not only cuts emissions and reduces our environmental impact – both in the production process and through fewer truck journeys – but it also significantly reduces the need for hazardous waste landfill.
“We believe this is very much the future of sustainable road maintenance and we’re proud to be helping to pioneer this technology in Scotland.”
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