Potholes spring up as soon as the weather gets cold in the province of Quebec and repairs don’t usually last long.

Potholes spring up as soon as the weather gets cold in the province of Quebec and repairs don’t usually last long.
Photo Credit: Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press

Recycled glass may help fill potholes

Canada’s crazy climate can wreak havoc with road surfaces, leaving large holes which can damage vehicles and cause accidents. The problem is particularly acute in the province of Quebec where freeze-thaw cycles combine with questionable paving practices to make roads particularly rich in potholes.

Temporary repairs often open up again and there is an on-going search for more permanent solutions. Now, an engineering school with the Quebec University network is going to study using recycled glass in asphalt to try to fill the potholes.

One researcher suggests glass may help insulate asphalt and stop it from heaving with temperature changes.
One researcher suggests glass may help insulate asphalt and stop it from heaving with temperature changes. © École de technologie supérieure

Study to use half of all recycled glass

Researchers will use more than 100,000 tonnes of recycled glass in their study, reports Sarah Leavitt of CBC news. That is half of all the glass which is recycled every year in the province.

Most glass not recycled

This is good news given that people place old glass in recycle boxes but most of it ends up in landfill anyway because the province’s main recycling facility closed in 2013.

A researcher told Leavitt that crushed glass may be good insulating material to prevent frost from cracking asphalt.

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