From waste reduction and recycling targets to roads and infrastructure funding, Alex Fraser’s PolyPave ticks all the boxes for local government.
Since the first application of PolyPave by Yarra City Council, in Melbourne’s inner east, the asphalt product, containing high volumes of recycled plastic, glass and reclaimed asphalt products (RAP) has proved equal to varying vehicle loading demands and drastically different climates.
The first two streets Alex Fraser was contracted to repair and resurface, saw
approximately 7300 two litre plastic bottles, 55,000 glass bottles and several tonnes of RAP recycled into the roads.
The project reduced waste to landfill by 97.3 tonnes and cut carbon emissions by 633 kilograms.
Since these works, PolyPave has been used across Australia to resurface roads, reduce landfill and
cut carbon emissions.
Alex Fraser General Manger, Brendan Camilleri, said, “We are an innovative company focused on sustainability, and we want to be as carbon neutral as possible, so we investigated ways we could achieve that.
“We looked at what had been happening overseas and worked out how we could incorporate selected recycled materials into our high-performance pavements.”
The growing list of reasons the roads industry is looking to incorporate recycled materials includes Australia’s waste export ban on plastic, paper, tyres and glass.
“Local governments are enthusiastic about PolyPave because it helps them achieve their sustainability policies, and because much of its recycled content is sourced from their own kerbside recycling bins. There are no restrictions with PolyPave, it’s suited to all types of projects, big and small.”
In Victoria for example, 85 percent of the Victorian road network is made up of local roads maintained by local government, which give significant opportunity for sustainable change at a local level.
Alex Fraser’s Technical Manager, Peter Lazarus, said, “The reuse of these waste streams in PolyPave asphalt is a prime example of the circular economy in action.
“The performance benefits are very significant, and on the back of the projected performance results, customers should expect a significantly longer pavement life, saving on costs.”
