Reuse dismantled guide rail should be professionally supervised

In the government-wide program The Netherlands Circular in 2050, launched in 2016, the government outlines how we can transform our economy into a sustainable, fully circular economy in 2050. The program describes what is needed to deal more economically and smarter with raw materials, products and services. Within our sector, with regard to guide rail, a chain exploration for sustainable guide rail has taken place within that framework. Early this year, the exploration group met, including developers, manufacturers, consultants, galvanizers and the government.

Herman Odijk, Managing Director Saferoad Holland, served on the core group and outlines what the core group fed back in terms of findings, as a result of the studies conducted. "An important outcome was that we should reuse the old guide rail when constructing new guardrail," he summarizes briefly. "However, that comes with an important responsibility. Just directly assembling the parts of a dismantled guide rail into yet another guide rail does not automatically make it a new approved guide rail. After all, if it looks like guide rail, it doesn't mean it also works safely as guide rail."

CE mark? Then the guide rail must meet the required performance conditions

The required performance conditions are secured with a CE-marked guide rail. "KIWA has been engaged as Notified Body regarding the CE marking of (recycled) guide rail. Recycled guide rail parts can also be incorporated into a new system to be supplied, under the condition that the manufacturer demonstrates that the old parts are fully compliant with new. Thus, an old product is turned into a new, accepted product," Odijk explains. "It is important that materials that come off the road after disassembly are assessed by an expert party. That cannot be the contractor in question, nor do we want it to be. The assessment and processing of the dismantled materials should at all times be done by an expert company, the manufacturer who can make a guide rail from the dismantled stuff that 100% meets the CE standard. Only then can you deliver a safe guide rail back to the market."

Odijk reinforces his point: "Dismantling is also a craft. This can be done in a number of ways, the most brutal of which is to pick meters of guide rail off the road with a grapple attached to a crane. You will understand that such materials should not be returned to a storage facility for assessment, but should go straight into metal recycling. Dismantling should be done with policy and skill, with a view to reuse. Only then may the material enter storage, to await assessment for reuse. Then we inspect and process the materials, and then deliver it back CE marked. Measurement, preservation and steel quality of the recycled parts, like the newly produced parts, are fixed in our records and tested by the regulator for conformity to the EN1317 tested guide rail system."

Good work takes time

The general contractor should give the manufacturer the necessary time to dismantle everything neatly, Odijk believes. "That doesn't fit the picture that everything just has to be done quickly, resulting in quick and rough demolition. Time is needed to responsibly get the material off the road, stored, assessed and returned. This requires the cooperation of the general contractor, who must start factoring that extra time into the project. In addition to dismantling, storing, assessing and delivering back, other issues come into play. As indicated earlier, the material must be classified and the findings documented and archived. This can only have a chance if we find the time together to do so. In practice, for example, a bonus for delivering work quickly can hold back sustainable reuse."

Quality assurance by applying BRL 9161, performing roadside inspections

The BRL 9161 is the assessment guideline for the installation of shielding devices (a KOMO^®-process certificate). This guideline is an important guide for contractors, but not yet an obligation everywhere. Nevertheless, Rijkswaterstaat can include the BRL 9161 as a condition of work in the contract. Odijk: "KIWA then checks the placing contractor. The inspection sees to a correct construction and safe placement of the traffic safety systems. Within the InfraKwaliteit foundation it has been put forward that the critical components of the guide rail system can best be randomly checked at the roadside for (steel) quality and fit. The framework for quality control of materials used on delivery of the final guide rail product is already in place. So we have already found a way to guarantee quality and have made steps in the BRL 9161. Everything has been updated for that in the last 2 years, a revival of the BRL 9161. It all falls under 'responsible application of recycled materials'."

Always act from expertise

"Saferoad is a total supplier, developing and manufacturing in-house. Our new developments in the area of guardrail are lighter, stronger and more durable. We are involved in everything around sustainability and within that framework we only develop roadside protection products that meet current sustainability requirements, or even go a step further. An entirely new FL2M/VLP 2Z 267 family was introduced to the Dutch market at the beginning of this year. Thus Saferoad has made the Dutch guide rail systems lighter, with a nice saving on CO₂-emissions and a lower carbon footprint. However, we certainly do not shy away from recycling, but only work on it if it is done right. When we return a recycled guide rail, we have to be able to stand behind it. We act only from our expertise and guarantee quality. We believe that there should be no distinction in safety for the road user, the recycled components are just as good as newly produced ones."