Latrobe City Council trials recycled glass in road resurfacing program

Published: 23 August 2023
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Product

14mm Type H asphalt and 20mm Type SI asphalt.

Product name and supplier

Gippsland Asphalt and DASMA recycling.

Recycled material/s contained in product

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and glass.

Percentage of recycled material in product

10% RAP

12.5% glass.

Total amount of recycled materials used

25 tonnes of recycled glass in the 14mm Type H asphalt (wearing course).

47 tonnes of RAP in the 20mm Type SI asphalt (pavement).

Product specifications and standards

The product meets VicRoads standard 407.

Location

Intersection of Seymour Street and Franklin Street in Traralgon, selected due to high traffic volumes.

Project background

This is the Latrobe City Council’s first large scale trial using recycled glass products in asphalt for their road resurfacing program. Historically, the program has used 100% virgin materials like sand and aggregate including crushed rock and stone. The glass in the mix which was collected from local kerbside collections directly replaces the use of virgin sand.

The introduction of Gippsland Asphalt’s new asphalt plant has made the trial possible and enabled more recycled materials to be used locally. Gippsland Asphalt approached Latrobe City Council in 2020 to trial asphalt containing locally sourced recycled glass.

Use of this material in future projects will increase Council's commitment to environmental sustainability through the use of recycled products, establishing Latrobe City as a leader in the area within the wider region. In addition, it will encourage council officers and local suppliers, including other asphalt contractors to consider using recycled materials in their projects.

Sustainability Victoria supported this project through the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund on behalf of the Victorian Government. The funding enabled the recycled materials to be tested as an asphalt mix in the lab prior to implementation.

Installation and product performance

It's the first-time recycled glass has been used in road surfacing in the municipality. The contractor did not experience any major difference when laying this asphalt compared to conventional asphalt, noting that there was a slight difference in how the product compacted during the drum rolling.

During the planning phase the total amount of asphalt was miscalculated which resulted in the percentage of glass being reduced from the initial specification of 15% to 12.5%. This did not affect the total amount of recycled glass used which was 25 tonnes.

The project involved the removal of the surface and 100mm of underlying pavement. It replaced that pavement with a structural asphalt containing 10% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) (sourced from within the municipality) along with a wearing course containing 12.5% recycled glass.

“Trialling recycled glass in asphalt has been a wonderful success. Applying it to a heavy use site in Traralgon has demonstrated just how capable the product is. We hope to see this concept used more readily across other projects and would like to thank the Victorian Government for their support in the project.”
Cr. Kellie O’Callaghan, Mayor, Latrobe City Council.

Benefits of using recycled glass

Glass is a valuable resource that can be recycled an infinite number of times, creating an endless and sustainable loop of glass products. The glass in the asphalt mix is directly replacing the use of virgin sand, which when mined can be highly destructive to the environment.

Over 76,000 glass bottles and jars from local kerbside recycling services have been used in this mix, reducing reliance on our finite resources.

Learn more about glass recycling.

Procurement information

DASMA, the contractor responsible for processing all of Latrobe City Council’s mixed recycling supplied the recycled glass.

The crushing process closes the loop on recycled glass, allowing it to be cycled back into the community and used in infrastructure projects.

Gippsland Asphalt, the lead contractor and DASMA worked closely together to refine the processing and production of the glass mix to obtain the suitable standard for the application. A test section of asphalt was laid at the Gippsland Asphalt facility for testing prior to installation.

"Project officers collaborated with the council's procurement team to secure an exemption from procurement policy to purchase from Gippsland Asphalt, being the only supplier of asphalt made from locally sourced recycled materials.”

Obtaining additional funding through the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund made trialling this project more attractive for Latrobe City.

Life-cycle monitoring and maintenance

The surface will be monitored quarterly for cracking, shoving or defects, none of which have been observed to date. The surface has a sparkle in sunlight, and a pleasant sheen from headlights at night.

The success of this project boosted the council’s confidence to procure recycled materials and they have since completed additional projects using recycled materials. Upcoming asphalt works will be tendered, with the opportunity for suppliers to present proposals for sustainable products, which will be given strong consideration over the use of virgin materials. Despite these materials sometimes costing more to purchase at this stage, Latrobe City Council recognises the value in investing in sustainable materials and is focused on strengthening its circular economy.

The contractor gained valuable experience in the process of producing and refining the glass content to the required specification in the asphalt mix for future projects.

Community feedback has been largely positive with regards to using recycled glass in the mix, including other sustainability focussed organisations and surrounding councils.

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More information

For more information about this project, email sustainableprocurement@sustainability.vic.gov.au.