The last meetup had a small turnout. However, as always, there's always something new to learn. There are many ways people can make our economy more sustainable than it is right now.For example, in the image on the right is a gentleman who's holding up a blacktop substitute made of recycled tires! Not only does it save waste material from going into our landfills, the roadway surface itself has some rather unique properties.
Since the material is made of former rubber tires, it retains it's shape well. That means vehicle indents due to being set in a parking area are self-repairing. It also is a material that is less susceptible to freeze damage. If water freezes, asphalt is damaged. However, the crevices in that material can allow for ice expansion without being damaged. Also, due to being porous, it passes water through to the underlying ground. This eliminates the need to build water runoff evaporation areas for parking lots. As for cost, it's a bit more per foot than average blacktop. However, areas covered in this surface need less maintenance.
Anyway, it demonstrates that it's sometimes possible to re-purpose former waste materials into something useful. Not only is it sometimes possible, but it's sometimes even profitable!
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