Asphalts modified with recycled rubber from End of Life Tires (ELTs) represent an innovative, advantageous and interesting solution, consolidated all over the world for sixty years. In Italy it was introduced relatively recently, however it is finding more and more confirmations: in 10 years, in fact, it has gone from just over 100km to 592km in total at the end of 2020.

Around 40 Italian provinces have decided to adopt this valid technology, and in particular there are 4 regions in which the most important projects have been implemented: Tuscany, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Trentino Alto-Adige.

Asphalts modified with recycled rubber from ELTs are one of the most interesting solutions for the managing authorities of Italian road infrastructures, as well as for Public Administrations, since they allow them to invest and manage the economic resources allocated to this sector in the best possible way.

There are also different advantages coming from the use of this innovative technology: in addition to reducing the noise generated by the passage of vehicles by up to 5 dB, it has a greater resistance to potholes, increasing the duration up to 3 times compared to the conventional asphalts’ one. As a result, there is a decrease in inconvenience to users, as well as a lower environmental impact of the construction activity. Finally, there is an economic saving, as it allows to contain maintenance costs in the medium and long term.

It is a technology that Ecopneus, the most operational non-profit company in the management of ELTs in Italy, has been proposing and spreading for many years, activating and supporting various scientific studies and initiatives.