Recycled plastics manufacturer goes up against concrete with innovative kerbstone

i-plas describes its product – made from recycled polymers – as “a major breakthrough for the industry”, doing away completely with the need for concrete kerbstones.

“The availability of this product means there is no longer any need for the construction and house building industries to continue with their use of concrete kerbstones,” claimed Howard Waghorn, managing director of i-plas. “The recycled plastic kerbstone is easier to install, is more practical and outperforms the concrete alternative, while environmentally there is no comparison.”

The Halifax-based manufacturer already supplies its recycled plastic building material for use in applications as diverse as bridges, footpaths, walls, roofs, fences and flood prevention and said it is manufacturing its new kerbstone for Ezikerb, a Yorkshire-based development company with close links to an established kerb-laying contractor.

It says its new kerbstone, which has already been tested in the North East by Chester-Le-Street Council, will save “millions of acres of landfill and thousands of tonnes of waste and emissions” and boasts a number of other qualities over its concrete alternative – traditionally used in kerb-laying.

The lifespan of the new recycled plastic kerbstone is roughly double that of the concrete alternative and, once removed, can be fully recycled and re-used, the company says.

In addition, it claims the Ezikerb is easier to install because it is lighter than concrete allowing operatives to lay the kerbs much faster without needing to use lifting equipment – and keeping within health and safety regulations.

i-plas also maintains that costs and materials wastage during road building are also kept to a minimum because of the innovative design of its product.

The Ezikerb comes in two parts and the bottom section is laid first and protected by a re-usable plastic strip, which lies flush with the surface of the road to establish and facilitate access for site traffic. When construction is complete, the cover is removed and the top section slotted into place to create the finished kerb.

Currently, the line and level of access roads is usually created using standard bricks laid on edge or channel blocks that must be broken out, scrapped and replaced by permanent kerbing when construction is complete. Even when actual kerbing is used, it is estimated that approximately 75 per cent need replacing due to damage from site traffic.