Boral deepened its commitment to sustainable roads with the construction of a suburban Perth street on Thursday using waste tyres, plastic, glass and old road pavement likely bound for landfill.
The recycled materials have been processed beyond recognition of their first use – the asphalt pavements of Perth’s former roads have been recycled into aggregates, tyres look like black sugar, crushed glass has become a sand replacement and PET plastic bottles have been converted into small flakes.
The recycled materials, combined with crushed rock and bitumen, are the equivalent of:
- 58,000 600ml plastic water bottles
- 316 tyres from 79 passenger cars
- 37,500 glass beer stubbies
Boral Western Australia Regional General Manager John Ralph said: “The transition to offering sustainable products within our suite of asphalt mixes presents both a significant opportunity and responsibility for Boral and our customers.”
“We are using sustainable materials in asphalt road construction in a way that respects the environment and supports a circular economy approach,” Mr Ralph said.
“We want to be part of the solution to reducing landfill waste and aim to make a real difference by promoting sustainable practices. We are contributing to a positive environmental impact, landfill avoidance and re-use of materials through our asphalt pavement operations.”
This is the first time Boral has used four recycled waste products in an asphalt mix in Australia and thanked the City of Canning for its partnership in the street construction.
City of Canning Mayor Paul Ng explained Canning’s partnership with Boral in the road re-surfacing trial was borne from the City’s desire to think and operate innovatively, and its enthusiasm to try new ways to make a contribution to sustainability.
“We are consistently asking our ratepayers to be more sustainable in their thinking and their behaviour and this partnership reinforces that the City is leading by example.”
“Single-use plastics are one of the biggest items going to landfill – it’s astounding that 58,000 water bottles can be used in a positive way to help create a road that will last more than 30 years, and the City is very proud to be a part of that.”
Source: Boral press office
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