A concrete commitment to recycling
Tarmac recycle 30,000 tonnes of concrete in major contract on M5 motorway in the West Midlands
TARMAC have successfully delivered a major contract on the M5 motorway after recycling around 30,000 tonnes of concrete and providing 8,000 cubic metres of new concrete for new slip-form central barrier works.
The project, which took place between junctions 3 and 4a, was delivered as part of an eight-week scheme to install eight miles of new concrete safety barrier.
Approximately 30,000 tonnes of concrete were excavated and then crushed into Type 1 and 6F5 aggregates at Tarmac’s recycling site in Ettingshall, Wolverhampton. More than 14,000 tonnes of the recycled aggregates have already been deployed on local construction schemes.
Overnight works saw excavated material transported from the site, stockpiled locally, and reprocessed, with as many as 40 trucks bringing in around 1,700 tonnes a night throughout the initiative.
Tarmac’s Stourport depot in the West Midlands supplied the concrete for the new barrier, which was constructed by Extrudakerb.
Nigel Blackburn, unit manager at Tarmac’s Ettingshall recycling site, said: ‘The local reuse of recycled materials is key to reducing waste to landfill and cutting carbon emissions through reduced transport movements.
‘Managing materials in a more efficient way offers real scope to deliver efficiency and environmental savings. Because we have a dedicated network of recycling plants, Tarmac are able to help customers make decisions on the best way to reuse recycled material on appropriate schemes.
‘Our work on the M5 shows our capacity to reprocess significant volumes of recycled materials and how we’re able to proactively support and advise customers, to ensure that they understand the most sustainable and beneficial ways to reuse high-quality recycled and secondary aggregates.’
The delivery of the M5 contract supports Tarmac’s company-wide strategy to reduce waste to landfill and maximize the reuse of recycled aggregates. The company’s latest Sustainability Report reveals that, since 2004, Tarmac have reduced waste to licensed disposal by 95%.
