Council delivering sustainable, smoother streets
Brisbane City Council is saving more than $4 million a year by recycling more than 62,000 tonnes of asphalt and 7000 tonnes of glass as part of its road resurfacing plan.
Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Council was leading the way in delivering an environmentally-friendly city and had been at the forefront of research and application of specialised road surfacing treatments.
“In the last year alone, Council recycled more than 62,000 tonnes of asphalt from our road network, which was re-crushed and graded before being delivered to Council’s Eagle Farm and Riverview asphalt plants for re-use,” Cr Schrinner said.
“This program is delivering a significant benefit to ratepayers, with $3.6 million saved through asphalt recycling, and an additional $500,000 saved by using recycled road gravel as capping material at our landfill sites.”
Cr Schrinner said the use of recycled glass in road resurfacing had increased by 40 per cent in the past year.
“About 22 per cent of all glass recycled by residents is used towards resurfacing Brisbane’s roads with about 7000 tonnes of recycled glass within the asphalt layers of the roads,” he said.
“On top of general road asphalt, Council also recycles old concrete footpaths and kerbing, which are turned into road foundations for reuse under asphalt.
“Council is delivering sustainable, safer suburban streets that ensure Brisbane residents can enjoy a smoother drive on their local streets.
“Over time bitumen in the asphalt on road surfaces ages, causing surfaces to become brittle and potentially crack.
“Council undertakes rolling inspections of all roads across the city, with the approximate lifespan being 20 years, depending on weather and use.”
Cr Schrinner said resurfacing roads was part of Council’s commitment to keeping Brisbane on the right track, with a record road resurfacing investment of $360 million over four years made in 2016.
“We have now delivered our 1500th street ahead of schedule and we are on track to deliver our 2000th by 2020,” he said.
“So far we have used approximately 780,000 tonnes of asphalt, and works continue to progress right across the city, with 1650 roads scheduled to be resurfaced before the end of this financial year.”