A highways contractor for Liverpool City Council has marked a major new milestone in reducing carbon emissions.
Huyton Asphalt, which is currently undertaking the central contract for the council’s £35m Highways Investment Programme, has announced it has saved more than 100 tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted into the city’s atmosphere over the past two years.
The local company celebrated the milestone achievement at one of its completed schemes at Allenby Square, in Old Swan – alongside its latest local apprentices and project leaders.
In support of Liverpool City Council’s NZC30 Plan to achieve Carbon net-zero status by 2030, the contractor has saved the equivalent of driving more than 826,000km by investing in new green technologies
In 2020 the contractor launched its HALO™ Low Carbon Asphalt products which have been used to improve more than 50 roads in Liverpool, including:
- Lime Street
- The Strand
- Princes Avenue
- Menlove Avenue
- County Road
- Childwall Valley Rd
- Kensington /Prescot Rd
- Green Lane
- Edge Lane
- Kingsley Rd
HALO™ drives sustainability and reduces carbon by changing the way asphalt is made and the way it is laid. Unlike conventional asphalt, HALO™ is a low-temperature product made using reclaimed pavement (RAP) and repurposed end-of-life tyres.
Huyton Asphalt and Liverpool City Council also achieved a pivotal moment in 2020 when it laid the first ‘rubber road’ in the North-West. Kingsley Road, in south Liverpool, was laid using the contractor’s trailblazing technology – HALO™ Rubberpave.
HALO™ and HALO™ Rubberpave follow circular economy principles through material harvesting, reusing, and recycling. An excess of 55 million waste tyres is generated annually in the UK.
HALO™’s rubber-modified asphalt incorporates end-of-life tyres into our warm mix asphalt technology to save up to 8% carbon savings.
The contractor has made a considerable investment of over £4m into research and innovation to ensure that it helps Liverpool City Council meet the economic, environmental, and efficiency challenges the region faces. Alongside its HALO™ technology, it has also invested in electric and HVO-powered operational plant and vehicles. HVO is a plant-based biofuel produced from fossil-free and sustainable raw materials.
James Blennerhassett, Managing Director of Huyton Asphalt, said: “It is a fantastic achievement to reach this key milestone supporting Liverpool City Councils Net Carbon Zero Pledge. We will continue to develop our products and processes to drive further sustainability and carbon savings for Liverpool City Council and our clients.”
Huyton Asphalts dedication to accelerating the deployment of low-carbon solutions and technologies alongside the Liverpool City Councils commitment to cleaner, greener new transport routes will ensure that the region remains resilient in the fight against climate change.
Councillor Dan Barrington, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet member for Climate Emergency, Transport, and Environment, said: “I applaud the innovative work Huyton Asphalt is doing to help tackle the climate crisis.
“They’re approach has been to invest in green technology to help deliver a new approach to road building and resurfacing, and we are already seeing the benefits of this in Liverpool.
“The city council is encouraging all its contractors to look at new ways of helping to cut our carbon emissions, as set out in the Mayoral Tiple Lock which puts a big emphasis on sustainability. It’s why I was delighted to see that the apprentices at Huyton Asphalt are also learning about how their industry can make a difference to our environment, lessons that will be just as vital to our future as the technical skills they are acquiring.”
