A new Micheldever facility promises a “huge advance” on fixing potholes while also going green.

Hampshire County Council has built a new recycling plant at Micheldever which is aimed at reusing old road materials to be re-used for fixing roads. It is expected to save 40 per cent of CO2 emissions compared with the facility it is replacing.

The council said the facility would be operated commercially to generate funds and “sustainable construction” in Hampshire.

The new facility is a cold recycling plant, as opposed to hot ones which use around five times as much energy. The recycled road materials also don’t have to be collected by specialist insulated lorries, and the process also saves around 40 per cent more carbon dioxide.

Within 12 months, the Micheldever facility aims to deliver a net reduction in CO2 of around 67,500kg by reducing the use of virgin aggregates, replacing some warm and hot mixes with cold lay materials and reducing the total miles travelled for highway construction.

It will also reduce construction costs by recycling tar bound material which would otherwise require specialist disposal. The council plans to take advantage of this by operating it commercially, enabling and encouraging more sustainable construction in wider highway activities across Hampshire.

Councillor Rob Humby, deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “This is a huge advance in how highways maintenance is carried out across the county - one of the largest areas of work the County Council delivers for Hampshire residents and businesses.

“Hampshire County Council has made a commitment to focus on the climate change impact of everything we do, and we now have a dedicated facility operating which recycles material for re-use in road repairs – bringing back material taken up from Hampshire roads during repair, processing it cleanly and quietly, and then re-using it elsewhere on the local road network. With around 5,500 miles of roads to maintain across Hampshire this will make a significant contribution to reducing our carbon footprint, leading the way in sustainable construction.”