The Manitoba government has announced that it will be testing asphalt-paving mixtures that include recycled asphalt shingles.
“Our government is making great efforts to invest in eco-friendly infrastructure in support of transforming waste in Manitoba,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler. “Being able to divert reusable waste from our landfills, such as shingles, allows our province to reduce its environmental footprint, and be in the forefront by adopting new and innovative products.”
Ethan Boyer Way, a new service road near the Brady Landfill, will implement a waste reduction/materials recycling approach to its construction using recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) in its paving process. The project will use 90 tonnes of recycled asphalt shingles, which is the equivalent of approximately 45 residential roofs. Winnipeg and surrounding areas produce more than 30,000 tonnes of tear-off shingles per year that end up in landfills and take approximately 300 years to break down.
“The use of recycled materials in road construction is an ecological alternative to a reliance on costly, non-renewable resources,” said Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard. “This kind of innovation brings a beneficial and potentially significant environmental impact for Manitobans, in decreasing landfill volumes and lowering greenhouse-gas emissions.”
Manitoba Infrastructure, in conjunction with the University of Manitoba, will conduct ongoing testing of the pavement conditions over the next five years to monitor its performance.
“We will continue to monitor Ethan Boyer Way over the years for differences in long-term performance such as cracking and rutting,” said Schuler. “As we all know, nature offers us a variety of weather conditions and we can monitor if the paving materials stand up to Manitoba’s harsh climate.”
Testing and monitoring will allow data to be collected and analyzed for future planning of construction projects using environmentally friendly recycled materials.
