A NORTH-EAST aggregates firm which saved the taxpayer £700,000 by using cutting-edge technology to recycle a road has said public bodies could be cut costs by millions of pounds by using the expertise.

Roadstone Aggregates resurfaced a three-mile stretch of the A66 between Stockton and Darlington by processing 25,000 tons of materials on site using a complex system to separate the hazardous material from the non-contaminated.

Out of the 25,000 tonnes removed, 9,000 tonnes were classified as hazardous and would have cost local authorities £1.3m to put into landfill.

Instead, the firm was able to process the hazardous waste using bitumen technology, before transporting it back to the site to be used as the structural base-layer for the new surface. The remaining 16,000 tonnes were sold to the construction industry.

Now, Roadstone Aggregates say local authorities are missing out on thousands of pounds worth of savings by not using the same technology.

The green operation, which saves thousands of pounds, has been given the thumbs up by the Environment Agency.

Roadstone Aggregates managing director Bruce Cook, who estimates the six-week operation between Little Burdon and Newton Grange on the popular A66 route saved around £700,000, says there is huge potential for the Highways Agency and local authorities to save thousands of pounds by using the Bitufoam process to reduce their costs.

He said: “Bitufoam is a tried and tested material and can be used as a structural base and binder course layer for any form of road or footpath construction.

“This is a fantastic way of re-using thousands of tonnes of material that would normally go to landfill, while saving the Highways Agency – ultimately the tax-payer – millions of pounds in landfill fees.”

Bitufoam is an asphalt which has been mixed with foamed bitumen, a blend of carefully combined recycled aggregates, bound together by a foam of bitumen and water, which forms the base layer of the new road.

Mr Cook added: “It’s a controlled physical and chemical process that provides a high-quality product.

“At the end of the day it’s good for the environment and could save the tax-payer millions of pounds – we have treated up to 500,000 tons up and down the country using this process.”

Roadstone, based near Scotch Corner, near Darlington, was working for main contractors Hanson Construction and A1 on behalf of the Highways Agency.