On January 24th, 2024, the Honourable Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, Minister of Planning and Development, Ministry of Planning and Development, accompanied by Mr. Keshore Lutchman, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Development, Mr. Desell Josiah Austin, Chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, and Professor Prakash Persad, President of UTT, among other key stakeholders, visited the Rubber Crumb Plant situated at the UTT Tarouba Campus in San Fernando. Subsequently, the team proceeded to Bharath Street, Tunapuna, to witness the inaugural paving of a test strip using a rubberized asphalt mix. Present at this event were Mr. Esmond Forde, Member of Parliament for Tunapuna, Mr. Antonio Ross, CEO of the Secondary Road Rehabilitation & Improvement Company Limited, Councillor Stephan Wattley-Mausica/Maloney, Chairman of the Physical Infrastructure Committee, Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, and Fisheries.
The Rubber Crumb Plant, a small-scale granulation facility established for recycling waste/end-of-life tires to manufacture downstream/value-added rubber crumb-based products, including asphalt paving material, was a focal point of the visit. The UWI conducted laboratory trials using the rubber crumb to create a unique rubberized asphalt mix design. In a developmental and investigative effort, CARIRI engaged a local contractor, Danny's Enterprises Company Limited, to pave a test strip using the rubberized asphalt mix and a test strip of standard bituminous hot mix material for comparative analysis.
During the paving of the test strips, CARIRI's Industrial Materials Unit - Civil Team, led by Ms. Lisa Ramoutar, Civil Engineer, sampled from both mixes for determination of Marshall Properties to establish a baseline. The CARIRI Team plans to conduct visual inspections quarterly and core sampling within 6 months and 12 months of the paving. These core samples will undergo Marshall Stability and Flow testing and density determination, employing the Marshall method, a comprehensive approach to asphalt pavement mix design that predicts performance.
CARIRI and its partners express gratitude to the Minister and the Ministry of Planning and Development for their continued support on this Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) funded project. Special thanks are extended to the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation for permitting the paving of the test strips in their municipality. The Rubber Crumb Project is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Planning and Development, CARIRI - The Caribbean Industrial Research Institute, UTT - The University of Trinidad and Tobago, and UWI St. Augustine. The event featured key figures such as Mr. Laurence Bridgemohan, Consultant, Danny's Enterprises Company Limited; Mr. Antonio Ross, CEO of the Secondary Road Rehabilitation & Improvement Company Limited; Mr. Esmond Forde - Member of Parliament for Tunapuna; Mr. Desell Josiah Austin, Chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation; Mr. Danny Gokool, Chief Executive Officer, Danny's Enterprises Company Limited; The Honourable Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, Minister of Planning and Development; Mr. Hans-Erich Schulz, Chief Executive Officer, CARIRI; Mr. Keshore Lutchman, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Development, and Councillor Stephan Wattley, Chairman Physical Infrastructure Development and Maintenance Committee.
