Roads made out of waste plastic are being built at a new council housing development in Bristol.
Building contractor Willmott Dixon is using asphalt containing non-recyclable plastic at the Ashton Rise development rather than using carbon-intensive bitumen.
The plastic waste that is used will prevent the equivalent of 150,000 single-use plastic bags from being incinerated or going to landfill. It will also save 1.6 tonnes of carbon entering the atmosphere.
Using plastic will mean the road is able to “cope better” with movement caused by changes in the weather, reducing cracks and potholes, according to Neal Stephens, managing director for Willmott Dixon South West.
He said: “By showcasing these innovative solutions to carbon waste reduction, we hope to inspire other developers to consider their own carbon footprint and the effect it has on the city.”
Willmott Dixon has teamed up with a number of other Bristol-based organisations to carry out the work.
Waste management company ETM will collect any non-recyclable plastic from the Ashton Rise site before plastic road company MacRebur processes it and the road is laid by Gworks Surfacing.
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: “This innovative approach will set Ashton Rise as the benchmark for new, environmentally friendly residential developments as residents will drive on some of the greenest tarmac in the country.”
Toby McCartney of MacRebur added: “It’s fantastic to see our technology being used here to repurpose plastic which would otherwise have gone to incineration or landfill.”
The Bristol City Council development will also include low-carbon heating installed at the homes on site.
The installation will see individual homes making lifetime carbon savings of 23.5kg, according to Neal, who says the heating also removes all local NOx emissions and will ensure local air quality is not affected.
He added: “We feel deeply rooted in Bristol, and hope that these innovative developments will not only support the local community, but the local environment too.”
Willmott Dixon is behind a number of projects in Bristol including the eco office Aurora on Counterslip; the build-to-rent development at Finzels Reach; Queen’s Building at the University of Bristol; and three new fire stations at Kingswood.
