High-tech waste tyre pavement that can water trees installed at St Marys

A high-tech paving material made with recycled tyres has been installed by the City of Mitcham as part of a major field trial in sustainable urban drainage design.

It is the first time that a permeable pavement made from 50% used tyres will be installed in a full-scale trial and tested under various traffic loads.

“We are very excited to be involved in this innovative trial. This paving product provides many benefits to the environment, including harvesting water to help water nearby trees and gardens,” said the Mayor of the City of Mitcham, Dr Heather Holmes-Ross.

“Not only does it sustain urban vegetation it can help to increase groundwater recharge, reduce surface runoff, decrease the risk of flash-flooding and help with the treatment of storm water.”

“Cutting edge equipment has been installed below the surface of the parking bays to monitor the performance of the pavement as well as record the surface temperature of the different pavement colours,” she said.

The permeable paving has been created by the University of Melbourne through funding from Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), an organisation established to ensure old tyres are recycled in an environmentally sustainable way. Other partners involved with the trial are Merlin Site Services, Pacific Urethanes and Global Synthetics.

The paving has been laid at the St Marys Park, Laura Avenue, St Marys.

The pavement design has obvious benefits for water sustainable urban design which will be evaluated during the trial.

The City of Mitcham is one of many councils across Australia interested in the outcomes of this project which is investigating the product performance of the Waste Tyre Permeable Pavement as part of more comprehensive irrigation and storm-water management solutions for urban areas, an important consideration for South Australia as one of the driest states in the country.

The trial will also monitor the quality of water passing through the pavement structure and evaluate its efficiency in reducing contamination of resulting waterways.

“This trial will utilise 4 tonnes of tyre-derived aggregates, the equivalent to diverting 500 passenger tyres from the waste stream,” said Tyre Stewardship Australia CEO, Lina Goodman.

This project is envisaged to be the first of many and has been undertaken to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product. The pavement has various applications, in pedestrian walks, bike paths, car parks and low volume roads across Australia. It could expect to use around 300,000 tyres per year in local government infrastructure – a great contribution to the development of markets for Australian recycled tyre product.

“The use of end-of-life tyres as an aggregate blend for permeable pavement is an innovative and infrastructure application,” said Ms Goodman.  “TSA is eager to see more trials take place to showcase the products full potential in the urban environment.”