Take around 47,000 recycled plastic bags, mix in toner from used printer cartridges and sprinkle in some crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres and 25 per cent reclaimed asphalt pavement. Add these ingredients to traditional asphalt and what do you have?
A recipe for Reconophalt™ – the award-winning road surfacing material that’s ticking sustainability boxes on our METRONET Denny Avenue Level Crossing Removal Project.
The innovative product was developed by project contractor, Downer, and laid on the new cul-de-sac section of Third Avenue in Kelmscott this month. It’s the first time Reconophalt™ is used on a Western Australian State Government project and is a great example of how we are incorporating sustainable practices into our projects to help meet recycling and carbon emission reduction targets.
Reconophalt™ contains high recycled materials that would otherwise end up in landfill or be stockpiled. It has considerable sustainability and performance benefits such as greater durability over time, reduced energy use and reduced cost – and can even be recycled at the end of its useful life.
The 60 tonnes of Reconophalt™ used on 900m2 of road contains the equivalent of:
- 47,368 plastic bags
- 1,078 toner cartridges
- 71 car tyres’ worth of crumb rubber
- 15 tonnes of recycled asphalt
Using products like Reconophalt™ supports our Sustainability Strategy, which works towards a low waste circular economy by implementing practical ways to reduce our carbon footprint during construction and into operation.