Sunshine Coast Council has announced the successful completion of a 12-month trial using crumb rubber derived from off-the-road (OTR) tyres in road construction, marking a significant step towards sustainable infrastructure and waste management solutions.
The trial, conducted across Railway Parade (Glass House Mountains), Spalls Road (Diddillibah), and Perlan Street (Nambour), has confirmed the viability of using recycled rubber from OTR tyres — commonly used in mining and agriculture — as a substitute for traditional crumb rubber in asphalt mixes.
The project, a collaboration between Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA), Sunshine Coast Council, RMIT University, Boral, Carroll Engineering Services, and Puma Bitumen, provides councils across Australia with valuable technical data to inform the future use of OTR crumb rubber in road construction.
The key finding demonstrates that OTR crumb rubber can be effectively integrated into road construction, with improved lifecycle performance and reduced maintenance requirements.
According to the findings, OTR crumb rubber-modified bitumen showed improved resistance to UV aging and cracking, enhancing road longevity.
The trial also validated that OTR crumb rubber can be used in asphalt production without significant process adjustments.
Importantly, the project established a closed-loop system by sourcing and processing tyres locally, addressing a waste challenge while generating new economic opportunities.
Anna D’Angelo, former Executive Director at the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA), led the project.
Sunshine Coast Council provided the demonstration sites and technical application oversight.
Boral provided the tyres from their local quarry, and its subsidiary Allens Asphalt provided operational delivery as part of its supply and lay contract with Sunshine Coast Council.
Carroll Engineering Services processed the tyres into crumb rubber, and Puma Bitumen manufactured the CRM bitumen. RMIT University — Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, led by Associate Professor Filippo Giustozzi, undertook accelerated aging assessments.
The TSA Market Development Fund contributed $99,000 to support the project.
The project addressed a critical challenge: across Australia, less than 15 per cent of OTR tyres are recovered.
OTR tyres are built to endure tough conditions, making disposal a significant challenge for industries like mining and agriculture.
Their resilient construction, size, and remote locations often result in low-cost onsite burial or stockpiling, creating environmental and social risks for local communities and wasting valuable economic opportunities.
In 2024, Sunshine Coast Council partnered with the Australian Flexible Pavement Association and Boral Asphalt to design a demonstration project that generated data on the constructability and performance of Crumb Rubber Gap Graded (GGA) mixes using crumb rubber manufactured from 100 per cent OTR tyres.
The trial successfully demonstrated that crumb rubber derived from OTR tyres could be used interchangeably with traditional crumb rubber without requiring significant adjustments.
The modified binder was less susceptible to aging from exposure to UV radiation and retained a more elastic response after aging, leading to greater resistance to environmental cracking and longer road durability when compared with conventional bitumen.
By sourcing used OTR tyres from Boral’s local quarry, processing them through Carroll Engineering Services, and incorporating the material into council roads, the project created a closed-loop system.
This localised approach highlights how councils can collaborate with industry partners to convert challenging waste streams into high-value construction materials while reducing environmental impacts and creating economic opportunities.
The success of this trial positions Sunshine Coast Council as a leader in sustainable road construction. Councils across Australia can build on these findings to adopt similar solutions, improving road performance and supporting a circular economy.
The AfPA’s report, Creating opportunity for increasing the use of Off-the-Road (OTR) tyres derived crumb rubber in roading applications, provides further data and is available for download via the AfPA website.
