Ecopneus wins the prestigious Eco and the City – Giovanni Spadolini Prize for innovation with the project “Noiseless Asphalts from Trentino”, aimed at publicizing the widest possible knowledge and diffusion about the advantages of asphalts modified with ELT recycled rubber.

The coveted prize is awarded to projects on the image promotion of a territory together with its attraction power, linked to actions devoted to the environment and landscape safeguard, in order to guarantee a sustainable and compatible development under the environment profile, together with the two strategic development sectors, i.e. agriculture and quality tourism accessible also to disabled people, considering virtuous and innovative companies as well. Since its first edition the undertaking has obtained great success, the most important institutional sponsorships, and a large participation throughout Italy.

Ecopneus – non-profit limited consortium mainly responsible for End-of-Life Tyres (ELT) management in Italy – has made the commitment and investment in innovation and development of the applications of recycled rubber its core activity. Asphalt made with ELT rubber, in this scenario, represents a not very popular use in Italy yet, but with high benefits in terms of environmental quality as regards noise reduction and use of a precious resource such as recycled rubber.

On that front, the territory of Trentino represents an important experimental laboratory has been started to confirm such benefits, especially with reference to noise reduction, to the longer durability and to a better resistance to rigid winter weather conditions. From this collaboration the project “Noiseless Asphalts from Trentino” , allowing the realisation in the Municipality of Transacqua (TN) of a road section with ELT rubber that allowed a reduction in traffic noise (avoiding physical barriers, environment and landscape unfriendly) and giving the territory a safer and more durable road.

In certain cases the use of noise proof barriers – solutions traditionally adopted, often for the lack of valid and alternative solutions so far – is not possible, for example because they hide the landscape, they limit road light, or they lack sufficient ways of escape in case of emergency. The ambition of this enterprise is to make this experience in Trentino a public-private collaboration model and a pacer for other Municipalities of Trento Province in primis, by using and testing locally the advantages brought by “modified” asphalts.