The creation of new roads and maintenance of existing roads has significantly increased the use of fossil fuels, which has significantly increased road repair/laying costs and contributed to global carbon emissions. Road works®developped by Embankment® in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Greenwich, can solve this problem in an effective, innovative and sustainable way.
Image credit: F Armstrong Photography/Shutterstock.com
Existing challenges in road repair
Roads are a vital asset for any country, supporting almost all economic activities and all aspects of citizens’ daily lives. However, road networks are under increasing strain due to the increasing number of vehicles on the road, mainly due to increased car ownership and inadequate road maintenance, particularly by local authorities, due to lack of funds.
The road surface is generally 0.8 cm thick, which leads to rapid fatigue and wear and requires regular maintenance. For example, Highways England has predicted that 50% of major trunk roads and motorways will have to cope with the traffic levels currently experienced on the M25 within a generation, during peak times.
However, local councils across the country lack sufficient monetary resources for the necessary upkeep and maintenance, which has led to an increase in the frequency and number of potholes. Potholes primarily indicate poor road maintenance and represent a significant risk to the safety of road users.
Similar situations in other countries have increased the risk of road breakdowns over a short period of time due to increased traffic and adverse weather conditions. Although central governments in many countries provide financial assistance to local authorities to repair roads, these funds are insufficient to fully restore the local road network.
These challenges require the development of new products and solutions that can be used to effectively repair roads in an affordable manner.
About Roadfill
Roadfill, a startup founded by Christie Raptaki in 2017, is a pioneer in innovative products, materials and road surfaces. The UK-based startup’s proprietary Roadworx product offers a faster, cheaper and environmentally cleaner solution to existing road repair challenges by using recycled plastic waste in an innovative way for laying and road repair.
The company currently has offices in Scotland and England and has conducted trials of its product in the Home Counties with Buckinghamshire Council and north of the border with Tayside Contracts and Bin Group. In March 2023, Roadfill was one of the winners in the #21toWatch business category.
Roadworx: A Sustainable Solution to Road Repair Challenges
The growing amount of plastic waste around the world is seriously affecting the environment and human health. The technology developed by Roadfill addresses both the harmful effects of plastic pollution and the use of fossil fuels for road upkeep and maintenance.
Roadworx products are manufactured from combinations of waste polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) with a melting point below 150°C to ensure less energy consumption in this process. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is not used to make Roadworx products because PVC has a higher melting point of 150-260°C.
Adding Roadworx recycled plastic products into the asphalt mix by replacing bitumen significantly reduces the amount of bitumen required in asphalt for road relay/repair/reduces the use of fossil fuels, increases longevity, the durability and flexibility of asphalt roads and significantly reduces the lifespan of roads. maintenance costs, which constitute a major issue in terms of road maintenance.
Roadworx products also reduce carbon emissions, landfill waste and associated taxes. Additionally, the approach is also environmentally friendly as it reduces the production of plastic waste and consumes significantly less energy than the traditional approach, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint.
On a typical one kilometer road, the equivalent of two million plastic bags can be used using this technology. Plastics take over 500 years to biointegrate, which is a major problem. However, Roadfill has exploited this durability of plastics as an advantage by using them to extend the longevity of relayed/repaired roads.
The use of polymers gives greater flexibility to the road surface and helps reduce tire fatigue, further reducing fossil fuel emissions. Roads repaired using recycled plastics contained in coatings retain sufficient elasticity to reduce the formation of potholes and cracks, improving road user safety. Waste plastic also improves the penetration value, viscosity and softening point of bitumen.
Roadworx can offer councils/local authorities savings of up to 50% compared to their current spend on road repair and maintenance, leading to substantial savings in local authority and government road budgets.
Although Roadworx products have been designed for cold and hot paving applications, the company does not work with hot asphalt due to its ethical stance on reducing carbon emissions.
Most Western economies have set strict carbon dioxide emissions targets to reduce their overall carbon footprint. Roadfill’s products can play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions and contribute to a circular economy by reducing reliance on depleting fossil fuels.
However, the reluctance of tarmacadam companies to abandon the existing all-bitumen-based approach poses a major challenge towards the large-scale commercialization of Roadfill products, as these companies have benefited financially for several years from the use of bitumen.
Future prospects
Roadfill works with local councils and road authorities across the UK to repair damaged roads using their Roadworx recycled plastic products and aims to source plastic waste close to road works and resurfacing operations in order to to reduce transport costs and the carbon footprint of the overall process. The company has also held discussions with Chinese, American and European companies to white label or license their products.
Recently, Roadfill’s Roadworx product was selected for road maintenance programs in Rhodes, Corfu and the Greek Dodecanese Islands. Roadfill was awarded this contract jointly funded by the country’s central government and local island authorities after a pilot partnership between the Greek government’s research and development division and Roadfill.
Roadfill contributes to the UK Government’s Build Back Better initiative by building sustainable, closed-loop circular economies. For example, the company collects PPE equipment from a major UK airport through one of its customers, then shreds it on site and finally uses it in a substrate mix for repair work within of the airport domain.
The company is also working with the University of Manchester and Versarian to introduce graphene into their asphalt mixtures.
Advanced materials: reshaping the future of industries
References and further reading
Embankment. (Online) Available on https://roadfill.co.uk/ (Accessed September 16, 2023)
Using plastic waste to repair and maintain roads. (Online) Available on https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1343
Ford, J. (2023). Recycled plastic is on the path to sustainability. (Online) Available on https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/recycled-plastic-is-on-the-road-to-sustainability/
Greek island roads adopt British plastic recycling technology. (Online) Available on https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/greek-island-roads-adopt-british-plastic-recycling-tech
