Tesco chooses sustainable asphalt car park solution

Tesco has specified Hanson’s reduced emission asphalt (REA) to resurface four customer car parks across the country.The product, which helps to minimise the impact of asphalt production and laying on local air quality, is being produced using the company’s energy reducing asphalt (ERA) warm mix technology to provide a complete sustainable solution.

REA uses Shell Bitumen FreshAir, a specialist binder, which helps reduce emissions from asphalt mixes by an average of 40 per cent compared with conventional bitumen. It acts directly with some of the chemical compounds affecting air quality, as well as odour-releasing molecules, helping to cut specific gases and particulates or minimise their release into the air during production and paving.

Contractor NMC Surfacing has laid a total of 3,100 tonnes of REA at Tesco car parks in Tadcaster (North Yorkshire), Whitchurch (Shropshire), Longton (Stoke on Trent) and St Helens (Merseyside).

“Tesco was looking for an innovative new surfacing solution to meet its sustainability targets and those of its stakeholders,” said Haroon Rashid, managing director at NMC Surfacing. “Hanson REA combined with its ERA technology ticked this box as well as the retailer’s key drivers of innovation and value.

“We have been very impressed with the quality and performance of the material and Tesco has plans to use it to resurface more of its car parks over the coming months.”

Gareth Day, Hanson UK asphalt managing director, added: “The combination of ERA warm mix asphalt and REA provided a sustainable solution which reduced embodied carbon as well as emissions from the asphalt.

“Using ERA realised a saving of 7,630kg of CO₂ emissions, compared with conventional hot rolled asphalt, while the REA used is estimated to have a similar effect on particulate matter as planting 146 trees and a similar impact on the reduction of NOx as removing 366 cars from the road.”