Increasing the environmental sustainability of asphalt

There is increasing interest in improving the sustainability of every aspect of life in order to conserve resources and reduce carbon emissions. Great strides have been made to improve the environmental sustainability of asphalt with the industry implementing measures to improve its durability, reuse reclaimed asphalt and incorporate secondary materials. Durability is a major issue for minimising both the environmental impact of and traffic disruption caused by subsequent maintenance, whilst recycling should be the easiest method of improving environmental sustainability. The incorporation of secondary material has great potential, although its recyclability needs to be considered. The effect on the carbon footprint of these effects and other life-cycle impacts should increase the environmental sustainability of asphalt pavements. This Insight Report describes these measures and considers the resulting life-cycle implications.