If you thought this was a standard crossover/driveway, you’d be wrong. In a first for the City of Bayswater, and most other localities, this crossover is made from recycled concrete.

Back in January 2019, I was contacted by the owner of a business which had expanded into Bayswater; Capital Recycling. The business, which actually first started in Duffy Street Bayswater twenty years ago, is the first WA business to create recycled concrete.

Through a rigorous quality control process, they take the concrete from demolition sites, to their Henderson yard, where it is broken down to aggregate form. This aggregate then comes to Bayswater and is used to create new concrete to Australian Standards.  

As the concept interested me, I arranged an on-site meeting with the City’s CEO, Director and Manager of Works & Infrastructure and the Mayor.  Since then, the City has been communicating with Capital Recycling on their processes and quality control. And now, we have our very first recycled concrete crossover as a trial for the product.

The City uses lots of concrete – kerbing, footpaths, crossovers etc. It’d be great if we were able to do this in a more environmentally friendly way. Especially as re-cycled concrete is cheaper than traditional concrete.

Before writing this article I called the owner and had a chat to see how business was for him. He’s really happy with the demand from private operators, and the product is being used for house slabs, footings etc. In addition, they are supplying the Town of Bassendean who also were contacted back in January.

It is my hope that the City will soon only use re-cycled concrete. The City administration still need to be assured that the product is contaminant free and fit for purpose. But hopefully, all hurdles will soon be cleared.

Power to the people.

(Please be aware that these views are my own and have not been endorsed by the City of Bayswater)