HAMPSHIRECounty Council’s Operation Resilience team is trialling a new ‘greener’ material to repair roads in Hampshire.

The new ‘warm mix asphalt’, which is going to be initially tested at select areas across Hampshire, is almost identical to conventional road repair materials already being used on the county’s roads, except it has considerable “environmental benefits”.

As well as delivering greater value for money, warm mix asphalt contains more recycled materials than conventional road repair material, making it more environmentally friendly. The manufacturing process also uses less energy in the heating and drying process - dramatically reducing its carbon footprint.

The material is delivered and laid at a much lower temperature than hot-mix asphalt, reducing the risk to workers and members of the public. Warm mix asphalt is laid at around 100 to 150 degrees Celsius – typically 50 degrees below that of conventional asphalt.

Hampshire County Council’s executive member for environment and transport, Rob Humby, said: “Hampshire County Council is committed to ensuring recycled materials are used wherever possible when maintaining Hampshire’s roads – making it kinder to the environment.

“Thanks to our size, capacity and expertise serving the entire county, we are well-placed to be able to trial new, innovative materials and best-practice.

“Hampshire maintains over 5,280 miles of roads in the county and if the trial is successful, we will be rolling out the use of this material across the county which could result in future cost savings for council tax payers.”