That is the message from a report by Viridis on the potential market for used tyres in civil engineering. Guidance is included for everyone involved in the process to try to encourage wider use of tyres in these applications.
It said: “Partnership working between client and contractor, and a culture of risk sharing, will help to work towards further use of recycled materials in construction.
”Tyres have many qualities that are advantageous in civil engineering. “
– Martin Bettington, Biffaward
“Without such an approach, there will always be a default to the use of tried and tested materials.”
The report said work was still needed to prove the engineering and economic performance of tyres. Using tyres for civil engineering offered the opportunity to reduce demand for quarried aggregates and for landfill capacity.
Potential uses include tyre bales for construction, tyres for landfill cover, tyre shred in drainage applications and tyre crumb as an aggregate in lightweight cement or rubberised asphalt.
Taking examples from around the world, Viridis found that a wide range of activities in which recycled tyres had proven their usefulness.
Examples included landfill engineering, coastal erosion control, road surfacing and sports surfaces.
Advantages
Tyres offered numerous advantages over alternative materials, Viridis found. They are readily available, cause minimal pollution and are lightweight and durable.
However, a key stumbling block to their wider use is their classification as waste up to the moment that they are incorporated into a new structure.
Tyres remain defined as 'waste' even when reprocessed and this causes an administrative burden that should be reduced, the report argued.
Although widely used for civil engineering applications elsewhere in the world, “the potential for their use is just becoming known and accepted in Europe,” it added.
Martin Bettington, chairman of Biffaward, which contributed 84,545 to the study, said: “This is a timely report as there is a great need to develop alternative markets for used tyres. Tyres have many qualities that are advantageous in civil engineering [and] this document will help to encourage greater use of tyres in applications in construction.”
Recovery
Meanwhile, cement manufacturer RMC expects within the next month to start testing tyres as a fuel for its plant in Rugby. It has recently completed a control burning of coal under a plan agreed with the Environment Agency.
If successful, the company expects notable savings over its present costs of burning coal.
For the full report, Civil Engineering Applications of Tyres, see the Viridis website.
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