Upcycling roads with circular bitumen with Roof2Road

Primary raw materials should be cherished. On the road to a circular economy, the focus is often on biobased and ignores the reuse of primary raw materials. A shame, thinks Gerben Bijker of Roof2Road, who advocates the use of more circular bitumen in roads. "The concept is proven to be thoroughly sustainable. Apart from that, because of all the geopolitical developments, it is also important to have strategic raw materials in-house. 

The production of asphalt roads in the Netherlands typically relies on old asphalt, new bricks and new bitumen. On the road to a circular infrastructure, Bijker says the most important component, bitumen, must also be considered. "The binder is preserved through circular reuse. Bitumen is already one of the most recycled building products in the world, through reuse of old asphalt. This can be even better by using circular bitumen from Roof2Road. We are moving smoothly towards 2030, the year when, according to the Paris Climate Agreement, we must emit 55% less CO2. It is high time for clients and the chain to take action. With the use of circular bitumen, we can already make a difference now."

Valuable raw materials

Roof2Road is anything but a new concept. "The first initiative in road construction dates back 11 years," says a proud Bijker. In fact, the company also produces raw materials for circular roofing for the two globally largest producers of roofing materials (Roof2Roof). Meanwhile, a full-fledged production site has been rigged up in Amsterdam. "Here we produce circular bitumen from new roof rolls and young used modern roofing material from Schiphol Airport, for example. Material that would otherwise be destroyed in the incinerator. Circular reuse of R2R bitumen already results in direct CO2 savings of 1,800 kg per ton, this does not include the CO2 footprint of the petroleum supply chain. Incineration is also harmful to the ozone layer. Modern roofing materials are very rich in high-quality bitumen (70%) and heartily valuable to reuse. Recent times have shown once again how important it is to be careful with homegrown raw materials. The world has changed greatly with all the geopolitical developments. By harvesting bitumen locally and using it in a circular way, we are much less dependent on foreign countries. A pleasant bonus." 

CROW Asphalt Quality Counter.

The latter is yet another motivation to choose circular bitumen. Although Roof2Road cannot complain about the interest. "Clients know how to find us more and more. And that is mainly due to good experiences on numerous projects in the Netherlands." For example, the Roof2Road asphalt mixture was recently applied to the dyke reinforcement between Tiel and Waardenburg over a length of no less than 20 kilometers! There is now a wide variety of asphalt mixtures with bitumen from Roof2Road certified according to the CROW Asphalt Quality Handbook. "Thanks to this certification, every client can make an informed choice for sustainable asphalt with the use of up to 100% circular bitumen. It is a sustainable and economically attractive raw material, also from our own country, which can be infinitely reused. So clients and chain, come into action," says Bijker with compassion for the planet.