Tarmac has opened a new, more efficient asphalt plant with new technologies to reduce carbon emissions, to replace its facility in Barrasford, Northumberland.

The plant is able to lower carbon emissions by increasing the amount of recycled materials used in production; it can use up to 45% recycled asphalt planings (RAP) in its asphalt.

It also has increased storage and higher production capacity. With eight container bins for warm and hot mix asphalt, offering nearly 400 tonnes of storage, Tarmac's new facility has come close to doubling its capacity, allowing it to offer greater availability of sustainable materials for customer collection.

By increasing its storage, Tarmac states it is also able to reduce its energy usage by running for longer without stopping and restarting, making it potentially 55% more efficient while reducing carbon emissions overall by 18%.

As well as this, Tarmac added that it has ‘futureproofed' this new facility by installing burners that allow for a transition to the use of cleaner dimethyl ether fuel at a future date, helping to further lower CO2 emissions.

John Riley, regional operations director at Tarmac, said: ‘With this new plant at Barrasford, we're reducing our carbon footprint as a business and also helping our customers to lower embodied carbon in their supply chains.

‘The cradle-to-gate carbon footprints for both our warm and hot mix AC20 binder course are over 4% lower in the new plant than they were five years ago at the previous plant. Additionally, the new site's expanded capabilities mean we can produce and supply a wider range of low carbon asphalts using RAP, bio binders and warm mix technology through our CEVO asphalt solutions.'

The location of the new facility at the same site as Tarmac's Barrasford Quarry allows the plant to operate using ‘as much material sourced from the quarry as possible'. By using conveyor systems to transport aggregates from the quarry to the plant, Tarmac has reduced Scope 3 emissions from the transportation of raw materials.

Kieran Adam, senior operations manager at Tarmac, added: ‘Barrasford Quarry and the former asphalt plant have been active for over 40 years and many of our on-site employees' parents and even grandparents have worked here. The new asphalt plant means we can continue to provide high-quality jobs for local people in Hexham and the surrounding areas.

‘The site also forms part of our strategic network of production plants and marks a significant investment into the north east, which will help us to better supply and connect with our customers in this region.'