Boral has launched an Australian first crumbed rubber asphalt mix from heavy-duty industrial vehicle tyres.

This is set to replace common crumbed rubber from Off the Road (OTR) used for heavy-duty industrial vehicles. The alternative asphalt mix has a higher cracking resistance and extends the life of pavements up to two times of normal road treatment.

OTR tyres are made for demanding conditions and support of heavy machinery used in construction, mining, aviation, manufacturing and agriculture. The tyres range in size from less than 20cm for a forklift tyre with a rim to nearly 2m for a mining dump truck tyre.

The high-binder crumbed rubber asphalt surfacing that Boral uses is made from end-of-life OTR tyres, front-end loaders and quarry haul dump trucks from Boral sites. Crumbed rubber in asphalt can prolong the life of pavements due to its anti-oxidation properties; oxidation from UV is the primary failure mode of residential roads.

Boral has paved 7,000sqm of local roads using 10,000kgs of OTR-derived crumbed rubber, sourced from vehicles from Boral’s West Burleigh Quarry. There has been a reduction in maintenance such as crack sealing and patching which has minimised cost and disruption to the community.

“We look forward to seeing the building and construction industry continue to innovate. We welcome more councils and all levels of government to embed recycled materials into their projects, including the use of crumbed rubber asphalt roads,” Boral executive general manager asphalt Richard Pearson says.

“Our successful engagement with Sunshine Coast Council, AfPA and Tyre Stewardship Australia led to the creation of this new product that will provide increased circularity benefits to the community – diverting tyres away from landfill and into new recycled products. Our operations will also benefit from reduced emissions from asphalt manufacturing and the reuse of end-of-life OTR and truck tyres from Boral sites.”