Using more than 150,000 single-use plastic bottles, sustainable landscaping company TechniSoil partnered with state transit officials to repave a one-mile stretch of three-lane road in July. According to CalTrans (California Department of Transportation), which already has slated the material for use throughout the state, the eco-friendly road formula has been shown to be 2-3 times more durable than traditional asphalt pavement.

Not only is the formula more durable, Technisoil officials say the procedure generates 90% less greenhouse gas emissions than the process currently used by Caltrans. Typically, the department repaves state highways by tearing up the topmost 3 to 6 inches of asphalt so it can be ground up and mixed with bitumen—a sludge-like binding agent generated by oil refineries. Since this material can only be used as a base for the roadway, however, Caltrans is still forced to import roughly 42 truckloads of hot asphalt in order to finish the road.

By replacing the bitumen with a polymer-based binding agent made from melted plastic bottles, Technisoil’s procedure eliminates the need for imported asphalt and guarantees that the road is made out of 100% recycled plastic in a liquid polymer.

To read the full story, visit https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/california-highway-becomes-first-us-road-made-from-recycled-plastic/.
Author: McKinley Corbley, Good News Network
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