Britain used waste tyres in M1 asphalt, recycling up to 750 per kilometre

Britain began testing an unusual solution to its mounting tyre waste in 2019, when Highways England and construction company Tarmac laid a road surface containing recycled tyre rubber on the M1 near Leicester, according to a UK government press release published that August. The trial tested whether granulated rubber from waste tyres could be incorporated into asphalt durable enough for a heavily trafficked motorway. Two years later, Tarmac said the material had secured BBA HAPAS Clause 942 approval for use on the UK’s strategic road network, marking a significant step towards its wider adoption.From waste tyres to motorway surfaceThe original trial was carried out on the southbound M1 between junctions 23 and 22. Tarmac developed the asphalt by incorporating granulated rubber recovered from end-of-life tyres into the road mix.The experiment was designed to test whether the material could withstand the demands of one of Britain’s busiest road networks while also tackling a growing waste problem. At the time, Highways England said around 40 million waste tyres were generated in the UK each year. The 2019 trial was intended to assess whether using some of that material in roads could...