A new type of road surface made from recycled plastic and other materials, including printer toner cartridges, is to be trialled at a roundabout in Gungahlin.
Minister for Roads, Chris Steel said the new asphalt product also contained crushed glasses and reclaimed asphalt materials.
“Every tonne of this innovative asphalt product will contain approximately 800 plastic bags, 300 glass bottles, 18 used printer toner cartridges and 250 kilograms of reclaimed asphalt,” Mr Steel said.
“If we are going to build a circular economy in Australia, then all Governments have to act to establish markets for the re-use of materials like single-use plastic and glass for use in Government and private projects.”
He said roads were a great place to start and the Government was looking at how it could require the use of ‘waste’ resources in procurement for roads across the ACT.
The trial roundabout is on Gundaroo Drive between Pallin Street and Hollingsworth Street.
Mr Steel said the trial project would require about 1,000 tonnes of asphalt between that site and another in Casey.
“This method of recycling has an economic benefit, as we don’t need to purchase as much new aggregates, but it is also better for the environment as it reuses existing materials that might otherwise end up in landfill,” Mr Steel said.
“The reclaimed asphalt has been sourced from local roads, glass from the ACT’s kerbside recycling (yellow bin) system, and some of the soft plastic through the ACT Container Deposit Scheme.”
He said the roundabout was a great place to trial the asphalt as it was a heavy traffic area, where vehicles were turning, and therefore putting more pressure on the road surface.
