Coming soon: Recycled-tire highway

A new highway is being paved in the Beit Shean Valley from an innovative new compound of rubber-infused asphalt.

The rubber used is a reincarnation of sorts of old and discarded tires that have been recycled. The compounded, called "RuBind" was developed by Dimona-based Silica Industries.

The compound has been tested and approved by the Standards Institution of Israel (SII).

According to the company the new road compound has distinct safety advantages, as the material has high resistance to the usual wear and tear roads are exposed to.

One of the road's biggest advantages, the company added, is the fact that it has enhanced acoustic absorbance abilities, thus reducing noise pollution.

Distinct safety advantages. RuBind road

The advantages of incorporating rubber into roads are known, but a past endeavor to implement it into Israel's roads has been shelved due to its high costs.

RuBind, the company said, has also proven to be cost effective.

"Over 50,000 tires are rendered useless in Israel every year," said Ronen Peled, CEO of Silica Industries. 

"According to the new tire recycling guidelines, they cannot be shipped off to landfills or burned and now, for the first time, they can be integrated in asphalt compounds and put to truly good use.

"This is a quality application, which is simple, available and eco-friendly," he said.

The RuBind has already been successfully used in pilot-roads paved in Italy and Russia, with contract approved in the United States, China and Brazil. 

According to Peled, the company is currently waiting for the green-light from the Israel National Roads Company, and once that is given, the compound would be used in roads nationwide.