For years now, rubber powder has been used to pave roads. The aim is to get highways that are more silent and safer but also more ecological. One of the projects being carried out in this field is headed by Ana María Rodríguez Alloza, a researcher at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid.
Her work has led to the creation of an asphalt that, for several reasons, has been described as ‘ecological’. She explains the most obvious reason for the sustainability of the product: “By using waste products, these asphalt mixes, which contain rubber powder from tires at the end of their useful life [NFVU, in Spanish], save energy and natural resources.” By reusing the bitumen in powder form that comes from these old tires, it is possible to dispose of tires that in Spain alone generate more than 300,000 tons of residuals each year.