Crumb Rubber Asphalt

New Zealand has completed its first pilot project blending crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres directly into road-sealing bitumen, a milestone for circular road construction in the region.

A First for New Zealand Roads

Fulton Hogan has delivered the country’s first binder-blended crumb rubber road pilot at its Roydon Quarry in Canterbury, combining Australian expertise with local engineering and surfacing teams. The trial used locally sourced crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres, blended into bitumen at a rate of 10 percent by volume. The rubber was dissolved into the binder using high-shear agitation, a process engineered to improve flexibility, durability and long-term road performance. For chief executive Graeme Johnson, the pilot draws on the company’s experience across the Tasman and signals a practical path for scaling the approach at home.

Why Crumb Rubber Asphalt Works

Crumb rubber asphalt is an established road-surfacing technique that incorporates ground rubber from scrap tyres into the bituminous binder rather than sending the material to landfill. The rubber particles add elasticity to the mix, which helps the surface resist cracking under temperature swings and heavy traffic loading. In practice, that translates into pavements that flex rather than fracture, extend service life and reduce the frequency of resurfacing and maintenance. Because the binder is modified at the mixing stage rather than applied as a surface treatment, the technique can also reduce traffic noise and improve resistance to rutting and reflective cracking. The process offers a second life for a waste stream that is otherwise difficult to manage at scale.

A Circular-Economy Feedstock

End-of-life tyres are among the most persistent waste materials in the modern economy. They do not biodegrade, and stockpiling them creates fire, water and vermin hazards. Diverting them into road construction keeps the material in productive use while displacing a portion of virgin bitumen, a petroleum-derived binder. The same tyres that feed crumb rubber asphalt can also be processed through tyre pyrolysis to recover valuable outputs such as recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil, giving operators more than one route to valorise the same feedstock.

What the Pilot Signals

New Zealand’s first binder-blended pilot is part of a wider regional shift toward rubberised asphalt as transport agencies look for lower-carbon, longer-lived road surfaces. Australia has led much of the technical development in this space, and life-cycle assessments there point to the durability benefits of crumb rubber in asphalt. For councils and road contractors, the question is now one of scaling proven quarry and laboratory results into routine specification. Successful pilots also build the local supply chain for processed tyre rubber, giving recyclers a dependable offtake for a material that otherwise competes for landfill space. Early demonstrations like this one provide the on-the-ground evidence procurement teams need to move crumb rubber asphalt from demonstration to default.

Learn More:

• Tyre pyrolysis technology and plant solutions
• Recovered carbon black from end-of-life tyres
• Pyrolysis oil and recovered fuel outputs
• Solid waste to resource recovery
• Feasibility studies for circular-economy projects

Put End-of-Life Tyres to Work

Crumb rubber asphalt and advanced tyre processing are two sides of the same opportunity: turning a persistent waste stream into durable, higher-value outputs. Whether you are specifying road materials or recovering carbon black and fuel, the right project setup determines the return.

Ready to evaluate your feedstock and site economics?

Contact Klean Industries about crumb rubber and tyre recycling » GO.