Woodstock estimates the cost could be in the tens of millions in savings to the City of Winnipeg
On Wednesday, Mayoral candidate Don Woodstock proposed that if elected as the City’s next Mayor, he would reintroduce recycled aggregate to be used as a part of the City’s road construction.
Up until 2020, recycled aggregate was an integral part of road construction. City Hall’s policy to limit or eliminate recycled aggregate is a calculated plan but may not be the ideal decision for the environment. The City believes, based on their research, recycled aggregates can pose some drainage problems due to the size of the aggregate. Since crushed aggregate comes in various sizes, a reasonable assertion would be that this problem can be solved during the sorting and sifting process.
According to a 2020 post on the website of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, “500,000 tonnes of demolished concrete is taken up every year in Winnipeg, from city road, water & waste, utility work and private sector development,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said. “We cannot dump this recoverable resource in the landfill.”
“Where does the old concrete that we dig up go? What happens to it? The taxpayers paid for this concrete. Which company or companies are we giving this material to? I want Winnipeg to save money by recycling concrete. Said, Woodstock
As per Woodstock’s press release, aggregates are trucked in from quarries outside the City as Winnipeg has no quarry to get limestone. Woodstock expresses his concerns about the effect on the environment and the cost to Winnipeg taxpayers concerning road construction.
If elected Mayor, Woodstock would see the City create its own facility to crush and recycle concrete at potential savings in the tens of millions. He further states, “because the City of Winnipeg already paid to build the roads, they technically owned all the broken-up concrete that gets removed from the site or the roads.
Therefore, Winnipeg taxpayers should not need to pay twice and re-purchase gravel to be crushed, intending to be put back into city roads. Woodstock would see the City facility pick up and transport broken-up concrete from road work to its facility to be crushed into recycled aggregate. The City will mandate all newly constructed roads or those designated for repair include recycled aggregate issued from the City Facility.
Woodstock estimates the cost of setting up a crushed aggregate facility at one million dollars, with the bulk allocated to commercial crushing equipment. A second option is to sell any extra aggregate to the public; if this is done, any revenues received will go back into rebuilding the depleted rainy day fund.
Winnipeggers head to the polls on October 26 to elect their next Mayor and new city council.
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