We should try to have city crews do more street repaving verus contracting this work out, as contracting it out might cost more then having city crews do the work.

also we can try to grind more asphalt off a worn out road, so that we are recycling and reusing more asphalt then now.

Also lets try to do more asphalt maintenance on our streets by filling in the potholes and cracks as soon as we can.

Lets also try to recycle more asphalt at the citys asphalt plant.

Note, this idea has been merged with Raymond's idea

the city can use recycled asphalt for sidewalk and street repairs,

The city can use recycled asphalt for sidewalk and street repairs instead of using new asphalt.

This would help reduce the need to make more new asphalt.

Note: This has been merged with Brian Counihan's idea

"Reduce Bitumen (refined crude) consumption through Asphalt Recycling and Efficient Pavement Design"

The City consumes a large amount of oil in paving its streets with asphalt, which is a mix of stone and bitumen. Bitumen is made from refining crude oil. The City's asphalt plant keeps a stockpile of asphalt for re-use, with proportions of up to 5% used in some new mixes, however other municipalities have a much more comprehensive recycling program. For example, the City of Brisbane in Australia paves its streets with mixes using up to 80% reclaimed asphalt, and has been doing so for over a decade. Implementing such practices reduces both consumption of fossil fuels and waste production.

Consumption can also be reduced by efficiently designing the pavement to minimise the thickness of asphalt required. Current practices rely mostly on historical thicknesses not the application of modern design techniques.

There may also be an opportunity to use contaminated or other hard to recycle plastics in the mix as well as waste glass that may not otherwise be useable.