WRAP guidelines on rubberised asphalt production

COMPREHENSIVE research conducted by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has proven, for the first time, that rubberised asphalt for UK road surfacing can be successfully produced using certain combinations of UK-sourced materials, including rubber crumb from used tyres.

This modified surfacing material has been found to offer a series of positive benefits compared with conventional asphalt mixtures. However, despite being used for highway construction in the US, South Africa, Australia and mainland Europe for many years, the material has never been applied in the UK.

In addition to providing a sustainable outlet for used tyres, as a construction material rubberised asphalt is also said to offer a number of desirable qualities, ranging from increased durability and reflective crack reduction to increased skid-resistance and improved flexibility.

‘The findings of our research prove that rubberised asphalt can now be successfully applied as both a surface course and binder course in UK highways construction,’ said Steve Waite, materials recycling project manager at WRAP. ‘This opens the way for more widespread use of the material in this country and anybody looking to specify rubberised asphalt now has all the background information and technical direction they need.’

Ian Walsh from Jacobs (UK) Ltd, who acted as an advisor to WRAP during the research, added: ‘These results prove, for the first time in the UK, that it is possible to blend recycled tyre rubber and bitumen to create a useable, valuable binder.

‘This alone is a very significant finding, but the results of the testing go so much further, demonstrating as well that different types of bitumen and recycled rubber can be used to create a wide range of mixtures that have been proven suitable for use as both surface and binder courses in highways construction.’