Using waste plastic to build roads

ELGIN, SCOTLAND — Springfield Properties, a housing development company, and MacRebur, a company that uses plastic waste to surface roads, have teamed up to build a road out of plastic waste in Scotland, according to a report in the BBC.

MacRebur has patented a process in which plastic waste is turned into granules and then mixed with a special "activator" that allows the granules to bind together.

Asphalt producers can use the resulting product as a substitute for a portion of the bitumen in an asphalt mix.

Springfield Properties says that for every tonne of bitumen, a form of petroleum, that is replaced, the carbon footprint of the road surfacing is reduced by a tonne of carbon dioxide.

The company said in a news release that these "plastic" roads are up to 60 percent stronger than roads that are currently in use, which will reduce road maintenance costs.

The company claims it is the first house builder in the UK to use waste plastic to build a road on a housing development. The company plans to surface more roads with plastic waste across Scotland.