PlastiPhalt®: Plastic recycled into asphalt in Adelaide
Pictured is Chris Dunn, Manager Design, Construction & Transport, City of Port Adelaide Enfield and Damien Edwards, Technical Manager, Fulton Hogan
25 July 2019
The equivalent of more than 140,000 plastic bags were saved from landfill thanks to innovative road technology used by Fulton Hogan and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield on resurfacing works earlier this week.
Castle Road in Glanville was resurfaced with PlastiPhalt®, a proprietary asphalt product developed and manufactured by Fulton Hogan. Approximately 110 tonnes of PlastiPhalt® was laid, using waste plastic that would formerly have gone to land fill.
Furthermore, the addition of 20% Recycle Asphalt Pavement (RAP) was included into the asphalt mix. RAP is an industry recognised recycling initiative and reduces the impacts on natural resources.
Fulton Hogan’s National Environmental and Sustainability Manager, Rory Bracken, says the technology is part of the company’s ongoing drive to use sustainable practices in the manufacture of road and industrial pavement solutions. “We source our plastics from a number of strategic suppliers that can provide the right mix of product that allows us to manufacture our PlastiPhalt® to a high level of performance and one that meets the Austroads Guidelines. Importantly, the PlastiPhalt surface can also be reused as RAP in new road surfaces in years to come. It’s a truly sustainable product.”
Mark Withers, Chief Executive Office, City of Port Adelaide Enfield said that the recycling project aligns with the Council’s commitment to sustainable transport and roadworks solutions. “The use of recycled plastic in asphalt mixes not only helps to deal with an environmental problem, but it also makes our roads smoother, safer and more economical,” he said.
Fulton Hogan began trialling PlastiPhalt® on a lab scale in 2014. It is made by shredding used plastic and then granulating the shreds to an ideal size for incorporating into bitumen. The plastic is then blended into appropriately classed asphalt grade bitumen.
The project was the first large-scale use of PlastiPhalt® in South Australia.
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Source: Fulton Hogan - www.fultonhogan.com
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