The City of Cockburn will be the first Local Government in Western Australia to pave its roads with waste.
Cecilia and Skerne Lanes in Port Coogee, will be sealed with 750sqm of Reconophalt made from 40,000 plastic bags, 900 toner cartridges, 210kg of crumb rubber from car tyres, and seven tonnes of recycled asphalt pavement.
The Reconophalt was installed by Densford Civil last week with materials supplied by the Downer Group.
Reconophalt comprises a variety of recycled waste materials including:
Recycled plastic bags, collected through the REDcycle program in supermarkets;
Waste toner from printer cartridges, collected through Close the Loop collection points;
Crumb rubber from car tyres;
and Recycled asphalt pavement.
Beyond the environmental benefits, Reconophalt also lasts longer, with a 65% improvement in fatigue life compared with standard asphalt.
The trial is an example of how local government and the private sector can collaborate and innovate with new environmentally friendly methods, according to Nicki Ledger, Waste Education Officer from the City of Cockburn.
“The City is proud to support this trial by Frasers Property and Densford Civil, the first of its kind in Western Australia , and will certainly be looking to continue using Reconophalt in Cockburn in the future,” Ledger said.
“We believe it is vital to encourage the use of recycled materials wherever possible, to stimulate the development of recycling industries here in Australia.”
Stuart Gardiner, general manager – Residential WA, Frasers Property Australia, said innovations such as this could generate positive waste minimisation implications for the company’s broader portfolio.
“This progressive environmental solution in the waterfront community at Port Coogee demonstrates the importance of sustainable partnerships to create economic, social and environmental value for materials that would more than likely end up in landfill, or as pollutants in our natural environments," he said.
“We look forward to monitoring the trial of this recycled asphalt and how the new surface performs over time.
Port Coogee is a flagship project for Frasers Property in Western Australia delivering premium coastal living designed around a world-class marina. Since being launched in December 2006, over 450 land lots have been sold in the community.