As local authorities, consultants and contractors face increasing pressure to improve road safety while delivering against ambitious carbon reduction targets and PAS 2080 objectives, the way roadside infrastructure is beginning to change.
Increasingly, procurement decisions are being influenced not only by performance and cost, but also by whole-life value, environmental impact and long-term asset resilience. For roadside sign supports, this means looking beyond traditional galvanised steel to solutions that can deliver measurable sustainability benefits alongside proven passive safety performance.
Righton Blackburns, the UK’s sole distributor of EcoPoste®, is seeing growing interest from local authorities seeking alternatives to traditional galvanised steel sign posts as highways professionals look to future-proof infrastructure investment while supporting safer roads and lower-carbon construction.
Traditionally, galvanised steel has been the material of choice for roadside sign supports. However, with greater emphasis on passive safety, carbon reduction and lifecycle performance, many authorities are now re-evaluating conventional materials. EcoPoste® offers a compelling alternative, combining independently certified passive safety performance with significant environmental and operational advantages.
Manufactured from 100% recycled plastic, EcoPoste® is the world’s first sustainable passive safety sign support. Unlike traditional galvanised steel posts, it will not corrode below ground, helping to extend asset life, reduce maintenance interventions and lower whole-life costs. With an expected lifespan of up to 50 years, it provides infrastructure owners with a durable, low-maintenance solution designed to perform for decades.
Safety remains at the heart of the product’s design. EcoPoste® has undergone an extensive programme of European testing, including 14 official crash tests and more than 50 pre-tests, ensuring it not only meets but exceeds international passive safety standards. Designed to minimise impact severity and reduce vehicle destabilisation during a collision, the system has been independently tested and approved for single, double and multiple post installations across a wide range of roadside applications.
EcoPoste® is also fully certified and independently tested, giving highways engineers, consultants and asset managers confidence that they are specifying a product with proven performance.
Its innovative design provides another unique advantage. EcoPoste® is currently the only square, anti-rotational root-fixed passive safety post available, offering enhanced stability while simplifying installation and long-term performance on site.
Its sustainability credentials extend well beyond the use of recycled materials. Manufactured from 100% recycled plastic and fully recyclable at the end of its service life, EcoPoste® supports PAS 2080 carbon reduction objectives, helping consultants, contractors and local authorities reduce embodied carbon and transition towards lower-carbon infrastructure solutions. Manufactured using a controlled production process that maximises recycled raw materials while minimising waste, damaged posts can also be recovered and recycled rather than being sent to landfill, supporting circular economy principles throughout the product lifecycle. Independent recognition through the ABNT Green Seal and Bureau Veritas Carbon Footprint certification further demonstrates its environmental performance.
As sustainability requirements continue to evolve, future-proofing infrastructure investment is becoming increasingly important. EcoPoste® not only eliminates the corrosion issues associated with traditional steel posts but also offers additional commercial benefits through its low-carbon construction, avoiding the potential impact of future carbon taxation associated with higher-carbon materials. As a non-steel solution, it is also unaffected by steel tariffs, providing greater long-term cost certainty for asset owners.
The growing adoption of EcoPoste® across the UK reflects this changing approach to highways infrastructure. The product has already been specified by Pembrokeshire County Council, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, the South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) and Wiltshire Council, demonstrating growing confidence in sustainable passive safety solutions across both local authority and major infrastructure projects.
A spokesperson for Righton Blackburns commented:
“The highways sector is evolving rapidly. Today’s infrastructure decisions are no longer based solely on initial purchase price. Local authorities are increasingly considering the environmental impact, maintenance requirements and whole-life performance of the products they specify. EcoPoste® demonstrates that passive safety, sustainability and long-term value can all be delivered in a single solution. As the industry continues its transition towards lower-carbon infrastructure, we believe EcoPoste® represents the future of sustainable roadside sign support technology.”
With decarbonisation and PAS 2080 principles now firmly embedded within highways procurement and infrastructure delivery, innovative products that combine independently proven safety performance with measurable carbon reduction benefits are becoming increasingly important. The growing adoption of EcoPoste® by local authorities and major infrastructure organisations demonstrates that sustainable alternatives to traditional galvanised steel sign supports are no longer simply an aspiration—they are becoming a practical reality for today’s highways sector.
(Picture: Righton Blackburns)
