Breedon resurface A92 with recycled asphalt

Recofoam technology used for second time in Scotland for sustainable replacement of worn-out asphalt 

BREEDON Group, in collaboration with Eurovia and BEAR Scotland on behalf of an investment made by Transport Scotland, have completed resurfacing works on part of the A92 trunk road at Ladybank using reprocessed asphalt stripped from the same stretch of road.

The existing road surface was removed along a 1km length of the A92 and the resulting planings were transported to a special waste quarantine zone at Breedon’s Clatchard Quarry, near Newburgh, where they were reprocessed using Eurovia’s innovative Recofoam technology. The recycled material was then returned to the A92 and used as a base layer in the new road surface.

The recycled ‘foam mix’ is produced by expanding the bitumen via contact with small amounts of water under carefully controlled conditions, then mixing the foamed bitumen with the planings removed from the existing road.

This process produces a fully compliant recycled material, thus allowing the reuse of the planings within the new road construction. The resulting product incorporates up to 85% recycled materials and reduces CO2 emissions by around 50%.

Commenting on the scheme, Alan Mackenzie, managing director of Breedon Northern, said: ‘This is only the second time that the Recofoam technology has been used in Scotland and it has proven its value as the most sustainable way of reprocessing worn-out asphalt.

‘It not only cuts emissions and reduces our environmental impact – both in the production process and through fewer truck journeys – but it also significantly reduces the need for hazardous waste landfill.

‘We believe this is very much the future of sustainable road maintenance and we’re proud to be helping to pioneer this technology in Scotland.’