Moved by Councillor Maxwell, seconded by
Councillor Worling –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
the
City of Sydney’s Environmental Strategy 2021-2025 prioritises initiatives that reduce
the amount of waste sent to landfill through resource recovery and the
development of circular economy systems. The use of recycled materials in
infrastructure pavements represents a significant opportunity to support these
actions;
(ii)
the
City of Sydney has been at the forefront of promoting sustainability in
infrastructure pavements over many years. This is reflected by the ongoing use
of recycled materials in pavements and our active participation in trials to
consider the viability of more sustainable materials;
(iii)
in 2021
the City of Sydney started delivering road works under the Southern Sydney
Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROCs) ‘Paving the way’ program. The
program has already successfully ensured that 10.8 million glass containers are
recycled for use in asphalt each year, when they are not able to be used to
make another glass container. Each year the City of Sydney is now recycling
more than 500,000 glass containers into asphalt pavements under this program;
(iv)
SSROC
has also recently proceeded with a crumb rubber asphalt demonstration project.
Northern Beaches Council, Burwood Council and the City of Sydney were selected
for a more in-depth investigation into the potential environmental benefits of
using crumb rubber in council asphalt roads. The findings were promising and
indicated that the project was a success;
(v)
the
City of Sydney routinely uses recycled asphalt and crushed recycled glass in
asphalt mixes where available. The ongoing use of these recycled materials by
the broader sector has cleared backlogs of these materials and has ensured they
have an ongoing circular reuse;
(vi)
in
recent years the City of Sydney has conducted various trials testing the use of
sustainable materials in asphalt pavements including recycled crumb rubber,
recycled soft plastic, recycler toner and recycled aggregates. The City of
Sydney has also used warm mix asphalts, which have a reduced carbon footprint;
(vii)
a
geopolymer concrete blend has also been trialled in a City of Sydney road
pavement in Wyndham Street Alexandria. The sustainable concrete blend uses an
alternative cement that generates only 180 kilograms of CO2 per tonne, compared
to 900 kilograms used in producing traditional cement. With 70% of the concrete
produced today going into pavements and footpaths, considering alternative
materials with lower carbon footprints has great potential to further lower
emissions from our operations;
(viii)
the
City of Sydney now uses a low carbon concrete for our footpath pavement renewal
works which incorporates substituted cementitious products to replace cement,
recovered sands and aggregates and recycled water. Demolished materials from
these works are also recycled where practical; and
(ix)
generally,
the City of Sydney finds that all the innovative sustainable materials trialled
are proven to be technically feasible. The ongoing use of many of the trialled
products is possible once supply chain barriers are removed and when there is
strong sector uptake to overcome operational and cost limitations; and
(B)
the
Chief Executive Officer be requested to report to Council via a CEO Update:
(i)
the
total volumes of asphalt and concrete road pavement materials projected to be
used within the City of Sydney’s annual road pavement programs;
(ii)
further
information about the proportion of sustainable materials used in road pavement
works delivered by the City of Sydney;
(iii)
further
advice regarding the barriers that may be limiting the use of materials already
trialled, and what further consideration is being given to overcome these
barriers;
(iv)
further
detail about what other sustainable materials are planned to be trialled in
infrastructure pavements, including consideration of recycled sand and low
carbon asphalt;
(v)
a
summary of the findings resulting from the trial of geopolymer concrete in the
road pavement on Wyndham Street, Alexandria; and
(vi)
a
summary of the findings resulting from the use of recycled crushed glass in the
asphalt pavement on Clarence Street, Sydney.
Carried
unanimously.
X113762