Recycled Materials Used to Build a Road

Recycled Materials Used to Build a Road

A stretch of road in Tasmania is the first road ever built from approximately 173,600 plastic bags and packaging and 82,500 glass bottle equivalents diverted from landfills.

Kingborough Council and Downer have teamed up with resource recovery and recycling companies; Close the Loop and RED Group, to set this new benchmark in sustainability.

Repurposed asphalt

In constructing the road along Charlton Street in Snug, 330 tons of asphalt from more than 33 tons of repurposed asphalt were used alongside soft plastics, glass, and toner from approximately 5,900 used printer cartridges.

According to Dean Winter, Mayor of Kingborough, “The Council is thrilled to be leading the way in diverting products from landfills and using them in sustainable and innovative ways. Our staff continues to demonstrate leadership and creativity in how we can reduce our environmental footprint.”

Waste management practiced in Kingborough

Councilor Richard Atkinson strongly supports recycling and re-use solutions. It is encouraging for him to see that the Council has partnered with progressive organizations. It shows Kingborough Council’s commitment to waste reduction and to find solutions for wastes.

Reconophalt

The milestone event showed the importance of partnerships with other leaders to create economic, social and environmental value for products that would be put to an end in a landfill, stockpiled, or as a pollutant in our environment, said Stuart Billing, Downer's General Manager Pavements.

“This cost competitive road product called Reconophalt has enhanced properties of improved strength and resistance to deformation making the road last longer, and allowing it to handle heavy vehicle traffic better,” he added.

Road construction using solid wastes

Downer partnered with Close the Loop to invent ways to upcycle waste products such as soft plastics to make it suitable for road construction.

According to Nerida Mortlock, General Manager of Close the Loop Australia, their partnership with Downer, alongside RED Group has allowed them to come up with an innovation to use solid wastes, such a soft plastics, to construct a road. This is optimum for environmental sustainability.

“What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously.”

- Dalai Lamar