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Singapore to try building roads with waste ash instead of sand

In a bid to prolong the life of its fast-filling landfill sites, Singapore will test the use of treated incineration bottom ash as base material for building roads.

Three companies have been picked to conduct field trials using 3,000 tonnes of ash collected from waste-to-energy plants.

They will use the treated ash, to be branded "NEWsand", on a stretch of the Tanah Merah Coast Road from mid-2020.

"Through science and technology, we have found a way to convert residue from waste incineration into useful construction material, which we call NEWSand," said Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli, reports Singapore news channel, CNA.  

"Like NEWater, NEWSand is born out of our drive to overcome constraint, and to create a precious resource from waste," he added.

"NEWater" is Singapore’s brand of drinking water provided by treated waste water.

In line with its Zero Waste Master Plan, Singapore wants to cut the amount of waste sent to landfill by 30% a day. By doing this, it hopes to extend landfills’ lifespan beyond the projected date of 2035.

Data from the trials will inform potential new environmental standards in regulating the use of NEWSand.

The companies picked to test the material by Singapore’s National Environmental Agency (NEA) are Inashco BV, Remex Mineral Singapore and Zerowaste Asia.

NEWSand has already been used to build a 105-metre temporary concrete footpath in Singapore, and a 3D-printed concrete bench, the NEA said.

These are also plans to build a second 24-metre footpath outside the Environment Building in early 2020.

Image: Building the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway over Circuit Road in Singapore, 2008 (mailer_diablo/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Comments

  1. Are they going to have a similar problem as ‘Red/Black Fly Ash’ sulphating???

  2. The water table and the volume of precipitation are the major constraints that should be investigated within this geographical region., the decay value of incineration bottom ash is far less than natural soil.

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