“Recycled plastic binders are ‘closing the loop’ by using plastic that had been used for something else and giving it new life, keeping the plastic out of our landfills and oceans.”
My worry: microplastics. As vehicles speed along roads made with plastic, the paving material will deteriorate...it just does. And these little bits of microplastic float around in the air for breathing things, such as humans and wildlife, to inhale. That’s not good.
Excerpt from this story from Nation of Change:
So far, 12 countries have built roads out of plastic instead of asphalt, helping both the global plastic pollution problem and climate change.
First appearing in India two decades ago, plastic roads are being tested and built in more and more countries as the world’s plastic pollution problem becomes more acutely felt. India has installed over 60,000 miles of these roads. The technology, meanwhile, is gaining ground in Britain, Europe, and Asia. Several countries — South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States, among them — have built their first plastic roads only recently, reports Yale Environment 360.
Many studies have concluded that using plastic waste for our roads performs as well or possibly even better than traditional roads.
As Yale environment 360 journalist Ann Parson reports, they can last longer, are stronger and more durable in respect to loads and rutting, can tolerate wide temperature swings, and are more resistant to water damage, cracking, and potholes. The technology also has the potential to reclaim anywhere from a small to a sizeable amount of plastics from landfills and random dumping, researchers are finding, while providing a significant amount for road paving and repair. In a small nation like Ghana, where only 23 percent of roads are presently paved, waste plastic could go a long way.
This process is also a cheaper alternative than traditional asphalt, according to Global Citizen.
