According to Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), Queensland's Sunshine Coast Council is harnessing off-the-road (OTR) tyres' performance qualities by using crumb rubber from end-of-life OTR tyres in new asphalt roads.

Recycled rubber from end-of-life tyres has been used in Australia’s roads and worldwide for many decades, but what is exciting is the potential for OTR crumb rubber to help Australia build more resilient and more sustainable ‘roads of the future’ – which is exactly what Sunshine Coast Council is aiming to deliver for residents and businesses as part of its program of testing emerging technologies for local application.

The project is a joint endeavour by Sunshine Coast Council and regional businesses, Boral and its subsidiary Allens Asphalt, Carroll Engineering and Puma Energy Bitumen. It is being led by the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA) with support from RMIT University and Tyre Stewardship Australia.

The results of the trial will provide other councils in regions where off-the-road tyres are used, with valuable technical information to leverage this model for the benefit of industry and communities in their local government area.

To learn more, read the full media release by Tyre Stewardship Australia.