Company says its paving materials recycling machinery ties into the world’s sustainable future.

Wirtgen Group, a Germany-based business unit of John Deere, says its product development continues to focus on “production systems with ecological and economic savings potential,” including pavement recycling machinery. Impact Attenuator

At the Bauma 2022 trade fair in late October in Germany, Wirtgen says it dedicated exhibition space covering digital system concepts and sustainability, showcasing “trailblazing road construction solutions.”

Products on display included an all-electric impact crusher from the Kleemann brand (part of Wirtgen Group) and two Wirtgen compact milling machines with a “comfort cabin.”

Wirtgen says it also presented “production systems providing complete road construction solutions.” Says the company, “It is in the sum of these solutions that the greatest ecological and economic potential lies—solutions that cover everything from cold recycling and asphalt recycling to emission-free applications in cities and other sensitive locations, as well as large-scale rehabilitation measures and small-scale, municipal work.”

“Users benefit not only from the coordinated Wirtgen Group machine portfolio, but also from the synergies generated by the alliance with John Deere,” Wirtgen adds. “This also applies to the processing of quarry and recycling materials, where John Deere wheel loaders together with Kleemann crushers and screening plants form an integrated production system.”

The Kleemann Mobirex MR 130(i) PRO impact crusher has what Wirtgen calls a fully electric drive concept. The new unit of the Kleemann PRO Line is used as a primary and secondary crusher in quarry and recycling operations, according to Wirtgen.

With its sustainable solutions, Wirtgen Group says it wants to “support its customers not only in satisfying the growing demand for infrastructure in a rapid and cost-efficient way, but also in already fulfilling the mounting requirements with respect to environmental protection as well as to safeguarding nature and humanity.”

Governor’s office releases $150 million to go toward more than 800 projects.

The administration of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced 825 blighted and vacant structures in 30 counties will be demolished thanks to some $150 million in funding from the state’s Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program.

The governor’s office says the plan was developed to help local communities tear down dilapidated commercial and residential buildings and revitalize surrounding properties to attract investments, businesses and jobs.

“There are sites all over Ohio that are perfect for redevelopment, but the cost to demolish the crumbling structures on these properties is standing in the way of new economic opportunities,” DeWine says. “By helping to clear out this blight, we’re investing in the future of our citizens and our communities.”

The governor’s office lists several of the larger projects, including grants to:

In total, the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program will award approximately $150 million in grants for demolition and revitalization projects in the state. The governor’s office says additional details about demolition projects in counties not represented in its first announcement will be announced in the coming weeks.

Former Select 10 Hotel and Suites in Alexandria, Virginia, described as vacant and graffiti-riddled.

Funding to demolish a vacant hotel alongside a roadway entering Alexandria, Louisiana, may soon be earmarked.

A report by KALB-TV calls the former Select 10 Hotel and Suites “one of Alexandria’s worst eye sores” that is highly visible to motorists driving into the city from neighboring Pineville, Louisiana.

“The graffiti-riddled building has sat vacant for years while homeless groups have left behind trash piles around the property,” says Dylan Domangue of KALB-TV.

The report indicates Alexandria City Council is attempting to stretch a $600,000 citywide demolition budget, with council members having received feedback that the abandoned hotel should be a high priority.

KALB quotes one local business owner as saying, “This is what you get to look at” when entering the city, and “What kind of tone does that set for the city of Alexandria?” A councilman quoted refers to redevelopment possibilities after the demolition is completed.

A vote this week could make available sufficient funding to demolish the three structures located on the former hotel site, says the TV station.

The project, once started, is not seen as a major one by council members, with one telling the KALB personnel could be onsite by the second week in November and that they may be able to demolish all three buildings in just 10 days.

Megan Fontes will take the reins of the organization as Lynn Rubinstein retires.

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Board of Directors has welcomed Megan F. Fontes as the organization’s new executive director, succeeding Lynn Rubinstein, who has retired after heading the Brattleboro, Vermont-based organization for more than 20 years.

Fontes joins NERC with nearly a decade of experience in corporate relations. Most recently, she led communications and organized all major events at Worcester, Massachusetts-based MassBioEd, an organization focused on science education. Previously, she held management positions at education-focused organizations, such as London-based Kaplan International and eScholastic Inc., which both have offices in New York City.

“NERC plays a pivotal role in the material management ecosystem, facilitating collaboration between the private and public sectors and educating stakeholders through its library of rich resources,” Fontes says. “I am honored to join a dedicated team and a board of directors working to advance circular solutions for the Northeast. I look forward to expanding upon the enduring foundation Lynn has built by continuing to provide value to advisory members, states and communities and identifying new ways to increase our impact throughout the region.”

Fontes, a Marlborough, Massachusetts resident, earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in energy and environmental sustainability and social impact from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental resource economics from the University of New Hampshire. 

“While it is bittersweet to welcome a new executive director to NERC as Lynn Rubinstein will be sorely missed, I am extremely excited that Megan Fontes will be joining NERC,” NERC Board President Megan Mansfield Pryor says. “Megan is perfectly positioned to lead NERC, with her MBA in social impact, expertise in both the nonprofit and business world, and, perhaps most importantly, a passion for sustainable materials management. This experience will allow her to work with NERC’s expanding network of businesses, states, trade associations, nonprofits and others to unite around minimizing waste and conserving natural resources.” 

Fontes officially took the reins at NERC Oct. 24 and will take part in the NERC Conference Nov. 2 and 3 at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

The New York City Department of Transportation (NY DOT) partnered with British plastic road company MacRebur to use plastic scrap to repave public roads on Staten Island.

The plastic-added pavement was used on Rice Avenue and Royal Oak Road. MacRebur says the project is the “first stages of a revolutionary trial that sees otherwise unrecyclable plastics re-engineered into a new, sustainable polymer and gives a new lease on life within asphalt mix in road construction.”

According to a release announcing the partnership, the new pavement process has saved over 7,221 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions when compared to traditional asphalt. The project has also diverted the equivalent weight of 214,534 single-use plastic bottles from landfill.

The project took place over a four-day span. MacRebur and NYC DOT worked with asphalt producer City Asphalt, based in Staten Island, to lay four different types of asphalt mix, using more than 2,400 tons of hot mix asphalt. The first mix contains only traditional asphalt, but the remaining three consist of asphalt mixed with a percentage of MacRebur’s waste plastic additive, which replaces part of the bitumen binder.

The trial sections will be tested and monitored to measure performance against traditional asphalt pavements by Dr. Thomas Bennert of Rutgers University, one of the leading universities in the U.S. for asphalt research and testing. Results are expected to be announced before the end of the year.

“Having worked with the team at NYC DOT for just over a year, it’s refreshing to see such enthusiasm about new technology and products for use in asphalt,” says Roddy McEwen, international business officer for MacRebur. “While trials sections such as these typically [take] up to three years from start to finish, we have worked together to begin trials within just four months, with a long-term goal of utilizing local waste for local roads.”

Producing and laying 1.1 million tons of asphalt each year, NYC DOT is one of the nation’s leaders in using recycled asphalt pavement, typically using 40 percent in every mix.

NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez says, “Using recycled plastic waste has the potential to solve our growing plastic waste problem and improve the quality of our streets by cutting carbon emissions and reducing potholes.

“We are excited to partner with MacRebur on this promising pilot and look forward to monitoring how its asphalt mix performs in New York City weather.”

Concrete Road Surface Groover Matthew Cruz, general manager at City Asphalt, adds, “When NYC DOT advised us of the trial using waste plastic in asphalt, we were initially reluctant as we hadn’t had much experience with the introduction of new products into our new Gencor plant. However, as we researched the product and had the opportunity to discuss with other asphalt plant operators, our reluctance turned to curiosity and excitement. The opportunity to address a major environmental concern seemed too good to be true.”