Masonry pavers and blocks made with recycled tyres

Innovative masonry products incorporating tyre-derived material offer a lighter, more sustainable alternative to traditional concrete masonry. By replacing a portion of natural aggregates with TDM, these products reduce environmental impact while improving ease of handling, installation, and transport.

Masonry blocks manufactured with TDM maintain excellent durability and structural performance, and may offer added benefits such as increased flexibility, acoustic dampening, and fire resistance depending on the product design.

McKeno Blocks and Pavers, located in Broome, WA, received a grant of $145,000 from the WA State Government for a tyre recycling project that involves a mechanical process to shred the rubber from used tyres into granules to develop resilient masonry products. McKeno Blocks & Pavers have been operating in Broome since 2008, and they are the only masonry manufacturer between Geraldton and Darwin.

Curtin University, with the assistance of funding from TSA, have researched the effect of various amounts and sizes of used tyre-derived material as a partial replacement of natural aggregates for engineering properties of various masonry blocks and pavers. The research was conducted to determine an optimum amount and various sizes of recycled rubber that will be manufactured by McKeno Blocks and Pavers using their newly established shredding/grinding facility.

In comparison to the current manufacturing process, the new products weigh less, thus facilitating handling, transport and installation in remote areas. The new products are also cheaper in terms of materials cost and the freight cost compared to the existing masonry products.