Summary.
The bill provides for recycled materials to be used in asphalt mixtures for secondary roads nationwide, with the stated aims of reducing environmental pollution and improving road construction quality. It also permits stabilized bases to be used nationwide for the same purposes. Asphalt mixtures containing recycled materials would be required in the construction, rehabilitation, improvement, and maintenance of secondary road works undertaken by the State and private companies. The Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas) would determine which roads qualify as secondary road works.
The Ministry would establish a section within its Testing and Materials Department and provide resources to hire and train personnel and purchase equipment. The section would analyze, verify, and control the quality of recycled products combined with asphalt mixtures and stabilized bases, and monitor pavement performance. The Ministry would also add a chapter titled “Recycled materials in asphalt mixtures and stabilized bases” to the General Technical Specifications Manual for Road Construction in the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá), so that the national requirements in that manual apply. From promulgation, the Ministry would determine the dosage percentage for annual asphalt mixture production.
The bill exempts machinery and equipment used exclusively for this purpose from import tax when imported by companies that recycle ground rubber tires free of metal components, bottles, and plastic bags to produce asphalt mixtures and stabilized bases. The Testing and Materials Department would define the quality of recyclable materials according to research, the results obtained from these asphalt mixtures, and the new manual chapter. The bill identifies those tires, bottles, and plastic bags as principal recyclable materials. They may be incorporated by a dry process, which adds them to the aggregates, or a wet process, which adds them to asphalt cement to improve its properties.
The bill also permits the use of profiled or milled asphalt pavement recovered from roads in the Republic of Panama’s road network. This material may be processed for incorporation as a percentage of virgin asphalt mixture. Alternatively, suitable technologies may modify it for use as a stabilized granular base, provided they ensure its performance and an appropriate wearing surface is subsequently placed, on site or using a portable plant. The Ministry would implement technical specifications and conduct tests to determine these materials’ mechanical properties. Recycled materials would have to originate from local consumption, be extracted from landfills, and be processed by domestic industry. Importing recycled material or raw material for these purposes would be prohibited. The bill sets promulgation as the start of its operation.
The provisions concern the Ministry of Public Works and may affect road construction and maintenance, waste recycling, asphalt mixture production, and suppliers of machinery and equipment for those activities.
What it proposes.
- Use of recycled materials in asphalt mixtures for secondary roads.
- Use of stabilized bases and recovered asphalt pavement.
- Technical specifications, testing, and road material quality control.
- Local sourcing of materials and an import tax exemption for recycling equipment.
Who it would affect.
- Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas).
- State bodies and private companies undertaking secondary road works.
- Companies recycling materials for asphalt mixtures and stabilized bases.
- Domestic industry processing materials recovered from local consumption.
Key points.
- Provides for recycled materials in asphalt mixtures for secondary roads and permits stabilized bases nationwide.Art. 1
- Requires those mixtures in secondary road works undertaken by the State or private companies and directs the Ministry of Public Works to identify the roads covered.Art. 2
- Establishes a quality control section within the Testing and Materials Department and adds a chapter on recycled materials to the road construction manual.Art. 3
- Directs the Ministry of Public Works to determine the dosage percentage for annual asphalt mixture production from promulgation.Art. 4
- Exempts from import tax machinery and equipment used exclusively by companies recycling the specified materials to produce asphalt mixtures and stabilized bases.Art. 5
- Assigns the Testing and Materials Department the definition of recyclable material quality and permits incorporation into mixtures by a dry or wet process.Arts. 6-7
- Permits the use of profiled or milled pavement recovered from the road network and assigns the Ministry of Public Works technical specifications and mechanical property testing.Art. 8
- Requires locally consumed materials extracted from landfills and processed domestically, prohibits their importation, and sets promulgation as the start of operation.Arts. 9-10