From Blacktop to Backlash: New Rules Demand Full Traceability of Road Waste
In its guidance, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) reinforces a message that every local authority and roads engineer should take seriously:
Road planings must be tracked through their entire lifecycle.
As Ireland accelerates its shift toward a circular economy, public bodies are being held accountable not just for how roads are built—but for how materials are recovered, reused, and reported.
This isn’t just best practice. It’s becoming compliance.
Why the Lifecycle of Road Planings Matters
Road planings—milled asphalt generated during resurfacing—are a high-volume, high-value material. When tracked and reused properly, they reduce carbon emissions, cut project costs, and prevent unnecessary extraction of virgin materials.
But when mismanaged or unaccounted for?
They can result in environmental risk
They trigger waste classification (with strict disposal obligations)
They expose councils to compliance failures under the Waste Management Act, CSRD, and circular economy policy
What TII Now Expects from Councils
In its Circular Economy in Roads Projects Guide, TII makes clear that local authorities are expected to:
Track road planings from point of removal to final reuse or disposal
Maintain clear records of quantity, movement, and treatment
Distinguish between reuse as a by-product and disposal as waste
Integrate these processes into project design and environmental operating plans
The goal is full material lifecycle visibility—not just a skip log or a weighbridge ticket.
Why Paper Dockets and Spreadsheets Won’t Cut It
Many councils still rely on fragmented or manual systems to track material movements. But as environmental reporting obligations grow, these systems fall short.
Manual records can’t prove compliance
Subcontractor logs are often incomplete or unverifiable
Greenwashing concerns and audit failures are on the rise
TII's guidance anticipates stricter oversight—and councils that lack a digital trail may find themselves exposed.
How Hub360 Makes This Easy
Hub360 provides a plug-and-play solution to help councils meet this new expectation without adding workload or cost burden:
Geo-tagged tracking of every load of road planings
Real-time dashboards showing where material is going and how it’s being used
Automated audit reports that demonstrate compliance from removal to reuse
No spreadsheets. No grey areas. Just full lifecycle oversight, ready for inspection.
Final Word
If you're managing roads projects in Ireland, this is no longer a back-office issue. Material lifecycle tracking is now a public duty.
Thanks to TII’s leadership, the direction is clear. The question is: can you prove where your planings went?
With Hub360, you can.
[Book a demo or speak to our public sector team at www.hub360.ie]