Fulton Hogan has opened a new crumbed rubber blending plant in Launceston. The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson said the new plant demonstrates the growing use of recycled materials. This is especially so in road surfaces, which is underpinning a record road and bridge infrastructure program in Tasmania.
Ferguson congratulated Fulton Hogan for its commitment to promoting sustainability in its roadworks operations. The company’s new Mowbray plant now employing 50 Tasmanians.
“The…government is promoting the use of crumb rubber in road surfacing as part of our commitment to reducing waste,” Minister Ferguson said.
“This is part of our investment in the resource recovery sector as we build our circular economy.
“Through the Department of State Growth, we are expanding the use of crumb rubber in the state road resurfacing program.’’
Ferguson said the government is providing $4 million over four years. This is designed to assist industry through the transition to using crumb rubber in road resurfacing and ensure there is no disruption to our roads program.
A total of 18 sites were completed using a crumb rubber asphalt mix during the 2022-23 resurfacing season.
Crumbed rubber has been expanded into the broader resurfacing tenders from 1 July 2023. This is due to the civil construction industry’s positive response to this initiative,
“Nine sites will be targeted for resurfacing using crumb rubber in 2023-24. There is also consideration given to including crumb rubber in some new construction projects,’’ Ferguson said.
The government will continue to work with industry to look for further opportunities to expand the use of crumb rubber in road resurfacing.