Reconophalt: Australia’s first asphalt road alternative using soft plastics and glass

The outcome

The Downer Group have achieved a new benchmark in sustainability and innovation, constructing Australia’s first road using a combination of soft plastics and glass – branded as Reconophalt. This new product has now been successfully commercialised.

Together with their project partners, they’ve created a sustainable, cost-effective solution that has improved performance characteristics compared to standard VicRoads asphalt. This plastic and glass modified asphalt has:

• 60% improvement in fatigue for longer life pavements
• superior deformation resistance for withstanding heavy vehicular traffic.

And for every one km of a 2-lane road trail that uses Reconophalt, the following materials are used (on average):

• 200,000 recycled plastic bags
• 63,000 recycled glass bottles
• toner from 4500 used printer cartridges
• 250 tonnes of reclaimed asphalt road, with 20% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP).

The need

Downer estimates that 170,000 tonnes of soft plastic waste is created in Victoria every year (based on 2019 figures), with only 17,000 tonnes or 10% recovered. Therefore, there is a real need to find new uses for soft plastic to improve the recovery of soft plastic and reduce the amount being sent to landfill.

This asphalt mix developed by Downer and tested in this demonstration trial uses more than 25% recycled plastic and glass that would otherwise end up in landfill or as a pollutant in our natural environment.

Developing the solution

Downer commissioned a research and development program to assess the performance, occupational health and safety risks, and scalability of the plastic and glass modified asphalt.

The asphalt is made up of 95% aggregate and 5% bituminous binder. The bituminous binder is the ‘glue’ that bonds and waterproofs the aggregate. The soft plastics additive melts at 170 degrees Celsius and becomes part of the bituminous binder. From there, the polymer is used as a substitute for virgin petrochemical products which are normally mined for use in road construction. Because of this process, it is not possible for the additive to separate out, creating microplastics.

The successful research outcomes led Downer to construct a soft plastic asphalt road on Rayfield Avenue, Craigieburn (in the City of Hume) aimed at testing and demonstrating performance of the product under different weather conditions. Further environmental validation of the product has since been completed with the NSW Environment Protection Authority who require testing for microplastic leaching when recycled plastics are used in road base product. No leaching or emission of microplastics have been found in the mixing and installation of Reconophalt.

The partnership

Downer Group Limited were the lead applicant in this project and conducted research with the help of Close the Loop for an asphalt mix.

Close the Loop, REDcycle and Hume City Council were all project partners involved in the planning and installation of the field trial into a local government road project.

Pathway to commercialisation

Reconophalt is now available across Australia and is currently being used by 7 local governments in Victoria and councils in New South Wales and South Australia. This project demonstrates the potential of recycled materials use in local government roads and infrastructure, with plastics and glass diverted from landfill while improving road longevity and performance.

The product is currently listed on Sustainability Victoria’s Buy Recycled Directory.

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More information

For more about this project, email marketsacceleration@sustainability.vic.gov.au