Road surfacing firm wins Lincolnshire Environmental Awards

Lincoln-based Minster Surfacing has been named overall winner and best business in the Lincolnshire Environmental Awards in recognition of its work to reduce waste through recycling.

Organised by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Lindum Rotary Club, the Lincolnshire Environmental Awards recognise and celebrate environmental excellence by highlighting inspiring activities that are helping to improve the environment and encourage sustainability.

Minster Surfacing won the Anglian Water Best Business Award and the Overall Award at the event which was held at Lincoln’s Bentley Hotel last night.

Minster Surfacing is one of the first companies in the UK to be using technology that enables it to recycle material that’s removed from old roads to be used again for new surfaces.

Managing Director of Minster Surfacing, Bruce Spencer-Knott said: “It’s an honour to have been given these two awards. People tend to think of road surfacing as a dirty, pollutive industry but we’re proving that it’s possible to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of our work and improve our service as a result. By embracing technology, we’re making the industry cleaner, safer and more sustainable and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve so far.

“I’d like to thank our partners, Kier Group and Lincolnshire County Council for having faith in our service and making road repair and resurfacing a priority. With 5,500 miles of roads across a very rural county, keeping the roads up to standard is far from easy, but we’re all working hard to improve Lincolnshire’s roads.”

Up to 85% of roads across the country contain coal tar, which is deemed hazardous and can cost up to £100 per tonne to send to landfill. Minster Surfacing is able to convert removed material into Foambase and binder course products, creating a safe and durable product which can be used again.

Foambase is a foamed bitumen product developed by OCL Regeneration. The production of Foambase produces 32% less CO2 than traditional hot asphalt and can it be laid using the same tools and techniques.

The company is also using GPS technology to reduce waste. When deliveries of material arrive at work sites, teams can scan unique QR codes that are given to the drivers and the exact location where the material is used is logged and reported along with the temperature of the material as it gets used. This means that if a fault is detected, teams can identify and replace the surface in the areas affected without having to removing surfaces that are up to standard, thereby reducing waste.

Richard Pennell from Lindum Rotary Club said: “The aim of the Lincolnshire Environmental Award is to recognise and highlight those  within the historic county of Lincolnshire who are working to improve and protect the counties environment. Minster received the overall award for 2018 because the systems that they have been developing to reduce the impact on the environment are not only innovative but go beyond what was required by legislation.“

While Minster Surfacing is currently able to recycle around 50% of the material it removes from roads, plans are in place for it to increase its recycling capability with the addition of a mobile Foambase recycling plant at its headquarters. This will significantly reduce the distance that material has to travel to be used on-site and it will enable the company to recycle even more.

The recycling technology isn’t limited to roads either. Recently, the company was able to recycle 5,000 tonnes of concrete from RAF Waddington’s refuelling yard, and all of the concrete slabs on the A52 Roman Bank footpath and cycleway in Skegness were recycled as part of major improvements to the route.

You can find out more about Minster Surfacing’s work at www.minstersurfacing.co.uk