Waverley Council's latest road improvements works have helped save the equivalent of 39 tonnes of carbon dioxide from impacting on the environment.
The Council is the first in Australia to use a special road surfacing material containing 70% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) manufactured by Downer.
Asphalt is one of the world's most recycled materials and councils including Waverley are increasingly looking at ways at using reclaimed asphalt in its civil works projects.
According to Downer, the environmental savings achieved by the Council by using RAP is equivalent to taking 16 cars off the road for one year.
Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, said using recyclable materials in civil works projects reflects the Council's commitment to sustainability and achieving net zero carbon emissions for Council by 2030.
The Council used RAP in lieu of traditional hot asphalt in re-sheeting works at the following locations:
- Avoca Street, Bondi
- And Harlowe Place, Bronte
- Birrell Street, Bondi Junction/Queens Park
- Bronte Road, Bondi Junction/Queens Park/Waverley
- Denison Street, Bondi Junction
- Wills Avenue, Waverley
- Andrew Street, Bronte / Tamarama
RAP accounted for 70% of the road re-sheeting materials used at Andrew Street and half of the re-sheeting materials used at the other locations.
"Projects such as these are helping reduce C02 emissions whilst ensuring that our roads and other assets are operated, maintained, renewed and upgraded to meet the levels of service set by the community, as per objectives in our Waverley Operational Plan 2022—2023," Mayor Masselos said.
It is not the first time Waverley Council has used materials containing high recycled content in its civil works projects. In 2019, the Council used the road surfacing material Reconophalt containing material derived from waste streams such as soft plastics, glass and toner in re-sheeting works along sections of Blair Street, North Bondi and Henrietta and St Thomas streets, Bronte. It was also used in the Glenayr Avenue streetscape upgrade.
Check out this video from our Sustainability Team to learn more about our Glenayr Avenue streetscape upgrade and its environmental benefits.
