Back to Resources

Research Report 062 Use of tyre rubber in bitumous pavements in New Zealand

Published: | Category: Activity management , Research programme , Research & reports | Audience: General

A literature review was carried out in 1993 on the potential use of crumb-sized ground tyre rubber (GTR), obtained from recycling waste tyres, as an additive to bitumen used in constructing New Zealand pavements.

GTR, also called crumb rubber, has been used either mixed with bitumen or incorporated as part of the aggregate fraction in hot asphalt mixes.

The expected cost of the GTR and the cost of specialised blending and spraying equipment would make bitumen-rubber blends more expensive to use as a chipseal binder than the synthetic rubber being used in 1993 in New Zealand pavements. GTR could possibly be used in hot asphalt mixes where it would be expected to increase pavement flexibility at low temperatures.

Insufficient information was available to make a benefit/cost analysis of its use under typical New Zealand pavement construction conditions.

Keywords: Tyres, environment, disposal, roads, pavements, bitumen, binders, asphalts, New Zealand

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: 1996
  • Reference: 62