FM Conway has worked with Westminster City Council to lay a warm mix surface course using 85% recycled materials - continuing its efforts to push the boundaries of asphalt recycling.
FM Conway’s single layer solution, SureLayer E, was laid on Third Avenue in the Queens Park district of Westminster, delivering 85% recycled content through a combination of high polished stone value (PSV), reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and ‘recovered aggregate’.
The product also helped reduce carbon through more sustainable warm mix content, while an odour suppressant was used in the manufacturing and installation of the material.
'The use of SureLayer E in the overall scheme, including transport, produces a 40% carbon saving over traditional hot mix asphalt,' FM Conway said.
In total, the 760 tonnes of material supplied by FM Conway’s Heathrow asphalt plant were laid in a single layer by its surfacing division, which increased productivity and reduced the number of lorry movements by 55%.
FM Conway's head of technical, Mark Flint, said: 'This has been a great collaborative scheme between FM Conway and Westminster City Council. Together we have maximised the amount of locally sourced recycled materials, as well as reducing the amount of vehicle movements through the use of single layer technology.
'This also resulted in less time spent on site resulting in us handing back the street to Westminster and its residents in an efficient and timely manner. These activities have ensured that Westminster City Council’s sustainability and carbon saving targets have been achieved.'
Phil Robson, the council's, city highways head of operations said: 'The City Council has set a net zero carbon target for 2030 and this innovation with high recycled content and lower carbon production methods supports that goal while providing the durability we need to maintain our highways asset to the highest standards.'
A pioneering track record
A trial of 80% recycled materials was conducted in Sutherland Avenue in June 2019 by Westminster Council.
One side of the carriageway was resurfaced with 50% RAP material, and the other was resurfaced with 80% recycled material. The site is undergoing continual performance monitoring, and both materials are performing successfully, FM Conway said.
These trials build on FM Conway’s previous work with Transport for London. In 2017, the company used its SurePave E asphalt surface course mix, containing 50% PSV recycled aggregate, on the A40 in west London. This is thought to be the first time that a surface course mix containing such a high proportion of recycled material had been used on a highly-trafficked strategic road outside of trial conditions.
In 2019, FM Conway designed an asphalt surface course containing 50% recycled content to be laid for the first time on the UK’s strategic road network.
This use of 50% recycled content marked a step change in the use of recycled material on UK roads which could result in huge environmental benefits if adopted across the network.
