Over the past couple of years, high temperatures in the UK has seen tarmac on busy runways and roads seemingly ‘melt’, deeming them impossible to use. With this in mind, along with the subsequent road repairs costing millions each year, it’s time we look to the future of road surfacing and the answer that solves ‘melting’ roads – waste plastic road company MacRebur.
Processing waste plastics destined for landfill or incineration and adding them into asphalt for road construction and surfacing, MacRebur products reduce fossil fuel usage – leading to a reduction in carbon footprint and helping to foster a circular economy.
MacRebur’s recycled innovation has a higher melting point, so is particularly popular in countries that experience warmer temperatures. With the UK’s recent heatwave and rising temperatures across the country, MacRebur’s CEO and co-founder, Toby McCartney, has provided insight into the myths and fears around the reoccurrence of ‘melting’ roads.
Toby said:“Although very few roads actually ‘melt’ in hot weather, there is a danger of the emulsion that’s sprayed on roads when they’re first laid ‘bleeding’ up to the surface. This creates a ‘sticky’ layer on top of the road, transferring bitumen onto our car tyres.
“However, by incorporating sustainable polymers into the bitumen used to build our roads, we can future-proof our transport network against rising temperatures.
“Asphalt roads and pavements absorb and store more heat than other natural surfaces, however, the highest grade of bitumen has a softening point of 52 Degrees. If we add MacRebur’s recycled product MR6 into the mix, the softening point increases to 60 – 65 Degrees.
“So, by incorporating waste plastic – otherwise destined for landfill – into our roads, we’re creating better conditions for drivers, as well as enabling a sustainable solution to the waste plastic epidemic and reducing carbon emissions created from road surfaces.”
Together with friends and MacRebur co-founders Gordon Reid and Nick Burnett, the team worked with specialised labs to test their plastic hypothesis: that waste plastic could indeed be ‘recycled’ through our road network. After 18 months and 501 tests, the correct formulation was found to incorporate sustainable polymers into the bitumen used in the construction of roads and surfacing, and MR6 was born: the first MacRebur innovation, and a world-first: recycled roads.
First and foremost, environmentalists, MacRebur cares about creating a new style of recycling that’s not adding to our existing problem with waste plastic, this being one of MacRebur’s missions. The other is to enhance asphalt. MacRebur’s roads are now all over the world.
Poor-quality roads plague the UK. Approximately 45,000 miles of roads in the UK are classified as ‘poor’. But with MacRebur’s product, road maintenance is significantly reduced, with MacRebur roads boasting a projected lifespan of 500 years. The roads are more durable. Because they’re made from plastic, they’re able to cope with contraction and expansion caused by changes in the weather, reducing cracks and potholes.
