Composite Pavers

• Masterbatches Color Composite Masonry Made of Recycled Rubber and Plastics

Brick-paved walkways and patios are commonly used to add colorful flair and sophisticated elegance to residential or commercial building projects.

When introducing their composite masonry paver system made of recycled tires and plastic containers, VAST Enterprises aimed to reduce the labor required to install traditional clay or concrete bricks, yet express the classic aesthetics they provide.

“A problem with conventional segmented paving systems is the labor required to lift and align individual bricks makes installation very difficult,” said Troy Achterkirch, Vice President—Engineering and Operations for VAST. “Our composite masonry system’s advantage is that it’s one-third the weight of other materials, making installation significantly quicker and less strenuous. That weight savings also allows our product to be easily transported to construction sites.”

VAST’s composite masonry pavers are shipped with underlying grids, made of the same recycled material as the blocks. These grids are either 12 or 16 inches (30 or 40 cm) square depending on the size of the pavers chosen. During installation, the grids allow paved surfaces to be put down quickly and permit easy positive alignment further reducing labor costs.

Made of a proprietary composite of rubber tires and recycled plastic containers fused into durable blocks, VAST’s composite masonry pavers provide a sustainable “green” option to the construction industry and have proven to be an especially popular alternative with those seeking LEED certification for green building projects.

With the majority of their product composed of tire rubber, VAST needed a very highly effective coloring method to overcome the extreme blackness of that primary ingredient and provide their pavers with the rich, natural earth tones of competitive materials. To solve this dilemma, they consulted with RTP Company engineers who recommended a polymeric-based color masterbatch for coloring the pavers.

Available in three standard colors, plus additional special order colors, the pavers are protected against color fading and property degradation by a proprietary blend of stabilizers in the masterbatch. “Our product is designed for a long lasting, high quality installation,” explained Achterkirch.

“RTP Company’s color masterbatches really added to that aspect of our product. They always pass our strict color match process and create a very consistent end product.”

“RTP Company has been wonderful to work with,” added Achterkirch. “Their engineering department proved to be very solid and provided us with solutions that allowed us to overcome the seemingly never-ending hurdles of new product development and get our product on the market very fast.”

Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, VAST Enterprises is a material science research and manufacturing company specializing in composite masonry. For more information, visit www.vastpavers.com.