The UAE Ministry of Infrastructure Development, in cooperation with French tyre maker Michelin, launched an experimental project that will use a mix of recycled rubber asphalt to build public roads
Rubber asphalt is a concrete material mixed with rubber from recycled tyres. The initiative is a part of the Ministry?s efforts to achieve sustainability, promote innovation, encourage recycling and create a national green road network.
As reported in the Emirates News Agency, to implement the two-month pilot project, which is the first of its kind in the UAE, a specialist team will test a mixture of asphalt and recycled rubber to develop an asphalt mix, which can eventually be used for future road construction projects.
Aisha Al Midfa, assistant under-secretary of the infrastructure planning sector at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, stated that the ministry?s cooperation with the private sector in constructing environmentally-friendly and sustainable roads is set to reduce noise pollution and the need for maintenance.
Additionally, the initiative is expected to reduce waste production and carbon emissions, through using recycled materials instead of traditional bitumen-based asphalt, the source added.
?Using this green technology for environment-friendly roads will result in a decrease in waste, harmful carbon emissions and noise pollution,? she further added.