September 28th, 2010
From Green Right Now Reports
Following a years of field and lab testing, New York electric, gas and steam utility Con Edison has approved a new earth-friendly product for exclusive daily use. Officials for GreenPatch, which replaces conventional petroleum-based cold asphalt patching materials, said their repair product will be used throughout New York City and Westchester County.
Con Edison Electric Field Operations Planner Mark Sullivan and Gas Operations Environment, Health & Safety Specialist Andrew Fiore led the pilot study, during which GreenPatch was tested under a variety of conditions and applications both in the field and in the lab.
“After an entire year of use at 300-400 bags a month, we concluded that GreenPatch passed all compliance standards as a completely safe product for both the workers and the environment…it performs impressively well in all conditions…(and) it’s also 20 percent more cost-effective than the traditional,” Sullivan said in a statement.
Utilities and public works agencies are some of the largest users of “cold patch,” which is widely used in repairing street cuts for gas and electric work, back filling excavations in pedestrian walkways and creating ramps for steel plates on roadways. Cold patch is made of synthetic polymer adhesive chemicals.
“Con Edison spends millions of dollars in the interest of the public, its employees…and the safety of the environment,” Fiore said in a statement. “As a major utility committed to environmental excellence, we always strive to minimize potential impacts, conserve natural resources and reduce the overall amount of waste that we generate…so GreenPatch is great because its ingredients are safer and the product is made from recycled material — right down to the bag that it comes in.”
GreenPatch was developed in 2007 by Flushing, N.Y.-based Cold Mix Manufacturing for commercial, municipal and private use as an eco-safe, biodegradable, high-performance and cost-effective asphalt repair using zero petroleum solvents and eliminating harmful VOC’s and carcinogens.
