MORE environmentally-friendly plastic roads will be surfaced across Coventry after a successful pilot scheme.
Birmingham Road in Allesley will be resurfaced using plastic pellets made from materials that would otherwise have gone into landfill or been incinerated.
Resurfacing began on March 11 and will be delivered in three phases in order to minimise disruption.
The greener material contains rubber crumbs that have come from old vehicle tyres and will be rolled out by Coventry City Council.
Montalt Road in Cheylesmore was the first street in the city to be laid with the new surface in June last year.
It was plagued by potholes according to complaining residents but the new surfacing is intended to combat this problem.
Council chiefs claims that the new method is as hard-wearing and effective as traditional methods.
As well as the clear recycling benefits, using recycled plastic and tyres is proving to be a hit with local people, chiefs claim.
Cabinet Member for City Services Councillor Pat Hetherton said: “We were thrilled with the results of our trial on Montalt Road, one of the city’s residential streets, so we’re continuing to use recycled materials on our roads as we’ve seen the benefits for road users, and of course the environment.
“Birmingham Road is one of the city’s busier routes, and the busiest route we’ve use this environmentally friendly option on but we are confident it will prove to be very successful.
She continued: “I am really pleased that we are able to divert materials that would otherwise go to landfill or be incinerated and reuse them effectively – we only have one planet and it’s important to look after it, so any way we can make a difference in the work we do at Coventry City Council will be something I encourage.
”We will continue to monitor the roads we have treated with the aim of doing even more.”
Figures show that 20 million tonnes of standard asphalt – using the fossil fuel bitumen as a binding agent – are produced each year in the UK.
Chiefs say an ever-growing number of vehicles mean that road surfaces wear quickly meaning sustainable solutions are needed.
