The council is hoping to divert about 40,000 tonnes of material from landfill each year through the new plant, and instead of disposal this material is to become part of the county's network of rural roads and footpaths.
 Cllr Keith Estlin (left) with RCS operations manager Stuart Giddings and Mark Whelehan of Foster Yeoman at the Micheldever site |
The plant, supplied by road industry manufacturer Foster Yeoman, has been installed at the council's Micheldever roadworks depot.
The new equipment means that worn-out road surfaces and foundations can be crushed to a uniform size before fresh foamed bitumen is added. The resulting product – called Foamix – is being used on road repairs carried out by Hampshire Highways, a partnership between the council and its contractor Raynesway Construction Southern.
Councillor Keith Estlin, the county's executive member for the environment, explained: “We're always looking for more sustainable ways of working and by recycling materials for road repairs with Foamix we are minimising waste taken to landfill sites, reducing the amount of new materials needing to be quarried as well as improving our road network.”
Hampshire Highways maintains more than 6,000 miles of road in the county, with maintenance schemes worth about 20 million a year. The council said it is also hoping to promote the use of recycled construction waste to others, including developers and public utilities.
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