The City of Vancouver is keeping up its green reputation – and saving a substantial amount of money in the process -- by transforming torn-up sidewalks, streets and water mains into material for other projects.
The recycled pavement, which would otherwise go to waste, is crushed into aggregate that can be used as fill for sewer projects, cover material for the landfill and asphalt for city streets – saving the city $500,000 annually.
"If we were to buy this from a supplier, this would be incredibly expensive stuff. It takes a lot of processing by others to create it and it often involves mining in a granite quarry," said Karyn Magnusson, the director of departmental services in engineering.
"We are incredibly happy that we have our own little source of granite within city streets when we are doing excavations for large sewer projects."
And the financial benefit may not the only positive aspect of the project. According to the city, who was named the greenest Canadian city by the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, the recycling of the material reduces 900 tonnes of greenhouse gases by reducing transportation – the equivalent of taking 180 cars off the road a year.
It has taken the city three years to perfect the process of creating a product that is equal or better than what the city would buy for projects but the time was spent was worthwhile, said Magnusson.
The city has supplied 42 per cent of its construction aggregate needs by using 77,000 tonnes of the recycled material from January to June of this year.
The road grindings from the torn-up streets make up over 10 per cent of all asphalt produced this year to date.
In the U.S., San Jose, CA has a similar project, as well as Blacktown City in Australia.
