It’s a greener shade of black

Jun 24 2008

LOCAL authority contractor Tayside Contracts has launched a new product that will help tackle the maintenance backlog on the nation’s roads, boost recycling efforts and bring important environmental savings.

TAYSET is a new asphalt paving system which has been developed through a three-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Tayside Contracts and the University of Dundee.

Additional input came from the bitumen manufacturers Nynas, who operate a Dundee refinery.

This asphalt paving system is made from recycled construction waste and is capable of producing financial savings of over £6 million per year when compared to the standard traditional asphalts.

In addition, the production process, described as providing a “greener shade of black,” could lead to annual CO2 savings of 17,160 tonnes – enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool 3,800 times over.

The product was launched by North Tayside MSP John Swinney, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable growth, at Collace Quarry on Friday.

He said that Tayset offers numerous benefits to Scotland.

“It recycles construction waste, the unique production process emits less carbon and it is cheaper than traditional materials.

“The development of Tayset has been a hugely successful collaboration between our world-class universities and industry and I wish Tayside Contacts success in rolling out this new, more environmentally friendly product.”

The system was first developed in the laboratories at the university’s Concrete Technology Unit and then tested on-site by Tayside Contracts.

Tayside Contracts managing director Iain Waddell said that the aim had been to develop a sustainable, low cost, low carbon, recycled road paving system.

This, he said, would ease pressure on council maintenance budgets, while offering a greener, cost effective solution which performs as well as traditional asphalts.

“Scotland produces around 7.2 million tonnes of construction waste annually, which has the potential to be recovered to supply market demand for aggregates.

“Approximately 500,000 tonnes of this is excavated asphalt, which has the potential to be recycled into much higher value products.

“As a producer, supplier and end user of road construction materials, we have been recycling construction and demolition wastes for over 10 years, initially producing low-value fill materials.

“The Aggregates Levy, which is a tax on the quarrying of stone from virgin sources, now accounts for about 30 per cent. of the cost of quarried stone and is set to increase annually.

“The other constituents of road asphalt production are bitumen, heating oil and electricity and with oil price increases of around 60 per cent. over the past year, this has been a major driver in developing the process”.

Dr Moray Newlands, from the Concrete Technology Unit, said: “The challenge has been to develop a material which has the credentials of being environmentally sound whilst having the resilience to withstand the harsh environmental conditions of the Scottish climate.

“Our unit’s experience in sustainable construction and materials performance has been instrumental in understanding and developing the technology appropriately.”

Mr Waddell added: “The initial research phase has now been completed and several successful live trial sites are operational in three local authority networks.”