Plastic Bottles are recycled into jeans, toys, furniture and, yes, more plastic bottles. The Dutch city of Rotterdam wants to turn them into highway.
The city is seriously considering the technology, which is called Plastic Road. Construction firm VolkerWessels calls it a greener alternative to asphalt that is stronger, easier to maintain, and more resistant to temperature extremes than conventional blacktop.
Asphalt, which is dark bituminous pitch mixed with sand or gravel, has long reigned as the road construction material of choice because it is relatively quick and easy to install, cheap, and remarkably durable. It’s also an environmental scourge: Its production releases 96 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually.
That’s led inventors to ponder planet-friendlier materials and applications, including solar-panel arrays and luminescent paint designed to absorb solar energy. And in India, plastic refuse (including bags) already has been used in place of bitumen in 3,000 miles of roadway.
Plastic Road may not look as cool as some tech-laden proposals, but it’s practical. It doesn't rely on technical breakthroughs, making it a suitable replacement for asphalt within a few years, according to VolkerWessels. Since the highway is hollow, cables and pipes can easily pass through. It can also be prefabricated and transported as and where needed, reducing construction and traffic disruptions.
Another benefit not to be overlooked: Plastic Road makes use of our waste. The US generated 33 million tons of plastic waste in 2013, only 9 percent of which was recycled.
However promising, the idea is still just a concept. A prototype must be built and tested to ensure it’s safe to drive on, or if a plastic road will give new meaning to “slippery when wet.”
