Recycled Glass Pavements

A company out of Wisconsin called Geosystems has created a porous pavement surface made from recycled glass.  The new product is called Filterpave.  This recycled glass paving system contains 70-80% recycled glass, 20-30% granite and a polymer to bind the materials with.  The glass is acquired from recycling facilities and then grounded into a smooth pellet.  Similar to the consistency of sea glass that is found on beaches.  This new system allows for water to be caught and filtered through the glass into the ground.  It acts like a sponge releasing the water slowly.  Best part of the system according to the manufacturer is that it also captures pollutants within the glass and keeps them from entering the soil.  The new pavement also does not act as a heat sink, but reflects and keeps its surface area cool.  During the winter the surface areas disperses water, and does not allow snow and ice to accumulate for long.  Icing conditions are reduced and the porous nature of the material speeds the melting of snow and ice.  Filterpave has the strength equal to concrete, and can be built to accommodate heavy bearing loads on its surface.  The time to cure versus concrete is less, only 48 hours.  Filterpave is LEEDS certified for their green building certification credits.  One of the best features of this pavement is the colors that can be obtained in its use.  Using recycled bottles in this pavement can provide for an interesting visual appearance.  Geosystems states that the maintenance costs of this system are lower than concrete and asphalt.  The only area of concern I have, is that they do not to mention the grip provided by this surface.  I’m assuming that it is not a slippery surface due to the inclusion of granite within the mix, but I could be wrong about that.  They do mention that costs are similar to current market offerings in paving.  A novel idea for finding an environmentally solution to recycled glass products.

John Vlahakis

Parking lot being surfaced with Filterpave.