Pavement
- Publication no: AP-R648-21
- ISBN: 978-1-922382-57-3
- Published: 9 April 2021
- PDF (free) Download
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the type, volume, and price of recycled plastics and their possible uses in asphalt. The report presents data, including recycling processes, prices of recycled plastics, annual production volumes and infrastructure capabilities.
The content was informed by interviews with members of the plastics industry including associations, councils, material recovery facilities, plastic recyclers, and manufacturers. The interviews evaluated the current recycling situation in Australia and New Zealand, and identified bottlenecks, opportunities, and capabilities.
This is the first report from a project (APT6305) which is examining the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements. The project is investigating the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt. In addition, new tests and methodologies will be developed to ascertain if the addition of recycled plastics in asphalt may produce any detrimental effects for the environment, the health and safety of the workers or impact the future recyclability of plastic-modified asphalt.
The second report from this project is Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements: Towards the Selection of Road-grade Plastics – An Evaluation Framework and Preliminary Experimental Results.
- Summary
- 1. Introduction
- 1.1 Purpose of the study
- 1.2 Scope of the study
- 1.3 Methodology
- 1.3.1 Inception webinar
- 1.3.2 Individual meetings
- 1.3.3 Second webinar
- 2. The plastics journey
- 2.1 The international classification system
- 2.2 Waste streams in Australia and New Zealand
- 2.2.1 Post-consumer stream
- 2.2.2 Post-industrial stream
- 2.2.3 Australian and New Zealand waste and resource recovery system
- 2.3 Plastic consumption and recycling in Australia and New Zealand
- 2.3.1 National recycling scheme
- 2.3.2 Incentive-based and product stewardship schemes
- 2.3.3 Price of plastics and recycling technology
- 2.3.4 Industry feedback
- 2.3.5 Mechanical recycling
- 2.3.6 Chemical recycling
- 2.3.7 Processing Challenges
- 2.3.8 Industry Survey Response – Recycling Processes Used
- 3. Australian & New Zealand processing capabilities
- 3.1 Production Capability
- 3.2 Annual production rates
- 3.3 Annual production rates breakdown
- 4. Price range of recycled plastics
- 4.1 Plastic bales
- 4.2 Plastic flakes
- 4.3 Plastic pellets
- 4.4 Plastic powder
- 4.5 Price of recycled plastics
- 5. Selected recycled plastics for further detailed assessment
- 5.1 Wet method
- 5.2 Dry method
- 5.3 Potential impact on the recycling industry
- 5.4 Potential impacts on the environment
- 5.5 Selected plastics
- 5.5.1 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
- 5.5.2 Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)
- 5.5.3 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
- 5.5.4 Polypropylene (PP)
- 5.5.5 Commingled Polyethylene/Polypropylene (PE/PP)
- 5.5.6 Commingled Polyethylene (LLD/LD/HD)
- 5.5.7 Coloured Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
- 5.5.8 Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
- 6. Potential enhancements to increase viability of using recycled plastics in roads
- 7. Conclusions
- References
- Appendix A List of companies consulted in alphabetical order