New asphalt recycling centre opens

A new £250,000 asphalt recycling centre that will slash thousands of tonnes of CO2 every year has opened in Bedfordshire.

Greener Surfacing invested in the facility having secured funding of more than £160,000 from asset finance specialist Academy Leasing for hot asphalt recycling machinery.

The Greener Centre at Blunham, near Bedford, has been two years in the making and is set to reduce the carbon cost associated with the transport and delivery of materials for new asphalt. The facility will be used for road and pavement surfacing projects by central and local government, surfacing contractors and infrastructure partners.

“When road resurfacing work is carried out, old asphalt tends to be disposed of in local landfill sites with large sums then being spent on fresh virgin asphalt,” said Nick Antrobus, managing director, Greener Surfacing. “The old asphalt can now be recycled and reused at a much reduced price, saving public money, landfill issues and costs and helping councils meet their carbon reduction targets.”

Academy Leasing secured a five-year hire purchase finance deal for Greener Surfacing, including a deferred VAT payment, which has freed up capital for the company’s ongoing growth and expansion.

“Academy saw our vision immediately and backed it,” added Antrobus. “Their support was key to the centre’s development, along with the commitment to asphalt recycling from Bedfordshire Borough Council and highways infrastructure specialists Amey.”

Greener Surfacing is now looking to extend its recycling services to contractors in neighbouring Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire in advance of further nationwide expansion.