EAST Sussex Highways beat off competition from 500 entries to win a prestigious international award for an innovative resurfacing project.

The reconstruction and resurfacing of the A275 Sheffield Green Road won the Gold Green Apple Award in recognition of environmental practices.

The project saw less waste being sent to landfill, cost half the amount and took four weeks less to complete than the conventional method.

The highways team carried out the work without removing hazardous material, saving more than 11,000 tonnes of expensive material and saving more than 600 lorry movements with no waste being sent to landfill.

“This is a fantastic achievement for the Highways team and really demonstrates how focused we are on delivering sustainable services for East Sussex residents and local businesses,” said Cllr Carl Maynard, the county council’s Lead Member for Transport and Environment.

“As with every authority in the UK, East Sussex County Council is under pressure to make savings and it is as important as ever to look at different ways to deliver projects.

“Value for money, high quality work and minimising disruption are important factors when planning road repairs and this ticked all the boxes. It is great that all our hard work has been recognised with the International Gold Green Apple Award.”

Judges for the awards include representatives from the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Chartered Institution for Wastes Management  and other independent bodies.