Did you know asphalt is one of the most sustainable construction materials available? It’s almost 100 per cent recyclable and can incorporate a wide range of recycled materials including rubber, plastic, glass, steel slag and even toner from printer cartridges.

Boral are proud to be at the forefront of sustainable asphalt innovation, helping our customers meet their environmental targets without compromising on performance.

Meeting the Demand for Greener Roads

As sustainability becomes a key priority for infrastructure projects, our clients are increasingly requesting asphalt mixes with lower carbon footprints. But producing these mixes is only part of the challenge. Ensuring they’re durable and fit for purpose is where our technical expertise comes in.

That’s where our Asphalt Laboratory teams, located in Baulkham Hills (NSW), Deer Park (VIC), and Narangba (QLD), play a vital role. These teams rigorously test new asphalt formulations to ensure they meet performance standards and are backed by robust technical evidence.

Lifecycle Testing: From Cradle to Recycled Again

Carl Topp, Boral’s National Technical Manager, explains how new equipment is helping us better understand the full lifecycle of our asphalt products.

“We’re now able to simulate ageing and environmental conditions like UV exposure, moisture and pressure. This allows us to go beyond the traditional ‘cradle to gate’ approach and assess the product’s performance over its entire lifecycle,” Carl said.

“Reducing bitumen and increasing recycled content lowers the carbon footprint, but it can affect durability. Our new testing methods help us strike the right balance, delivering asphalt that’s both sustainable and long-lasting.”

Faster Approvals, Smarter Solutions

The implementation of this advanced testing equipment has also improved our agility. In some cases, we’ve reduced mix design approval times from three months to less than one, accelerating project delivery and helping our clients stay on schedule.

We’re also working closely with the Australian Flexible Pavements Association and other industry partners to develop a new specification framework for sustainable asphalt mixes.

Recycled Materials in Boral Asphalt

Here’s a snapshot of the recycled materials we incorporate into our asphalt products:

• Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP)
  Reclaimed from existing roads, RAP replaces a portion of bitumen and raw aggregates. Some Boral plants use up to 30% RAP, with our labs working to increase this ratio.
• Crumb Rubber
  Derived from end-of-life tyres including our own quarry loader tyres, crumb rubber enhances durability and resists environmental cracking. Our Sunshine Coast mixes are a great example of this circular economy in action.
• Glass
  Crushed recycled glass can replace natural sand and improve surface reflectivity without compromising performance.
• Plastics
  Hard and soft plastics can substitute fine aggregates or be added to the binder, contributing to sustainability.
• Steel Slag
  A by-product of iron ore processing, slag improves skid resistance and surface durability. Our NSW team developed a high slag (~70%) Stone Mastic Asphalt mix for the ConnectSydney road asset maintenance contract.
• Toner
  Used printer cartridge toner enhances binder stiffness and oxidation resistance. It’s often combined with soft plastics to create composite additives.

INNOVO™: Driving the Circular Economy

INNOVO™ is Boral’s system for delivering asphalt containing alternative materials that would otherwise end up in landfill. It’s one of the many ways we’re helping our customers meet sustainability goals while supporting the construction circular economy.

Building Better with Boral

Asphalt is a building material with huge potential for innovation, sustainability and smarter infrastructure. Boral are committed to helping our customers build better by offering technically advanced, environmentally responsible solutions. 

Whether you're looking to explore our asphalt range, learn more about our technical capabilities, or discover how we support state and local government projects, we invite you to explore the resources available on our website. Together, we can pave the way to a more sustainable future.