28 June 2001: A major breakthrough in recycling means motorists could be driving on glass - but never notice the difference. In the interests of economy and the environment, a British highway authority has already built one road, and is planning several more, using recycled glass.
The authority, in Cornwall, plans to use thousands of tonnes of the material to build a whole series of new roads. Collected from bottle banks across Cornwall, the glass makes up part of the sub-base of new roads. But you need not have any concerns about punctures or grip on the roads. The glass will never come into contact with the top of the road surface.
Cornwall County Council recently unveiled its first stretch of road incorporating the glass. It is in a country lane at Ruan Major on The Lizard peninsula. The glass is from the county's 90 bottle banks and is being ground down to about the size of 50 pence pieces to become a key sub-structure ingredient, along with bitumen, in Glassphalt sub-base material.
The base material complies with Road Research Laboratory requirements. Around 8,000 tonnes of recycled glass per year will be used to create the road base material. And the county council hopes it will encourage people to recycle even more glass. CFC
