A road in southern Tasmania turned everyday waste into part of the infrastructure beneath people’s wheels. A 500-metre stretch on Charlton Street in Snug was built using an asphalt additive containing recycled plastic bags, glass bottles and printer-cartridge toner. The unusual mix was intended to reduce the environmental footprint of road construction while also producing a surface expected to last longer than conventional asphalt.
The project was undertaken by Kingborough Council in 2018 as a trial of how difficult-to-use waste materials could be redirected into road building. Rather than sending these materials toward landfill or other disposal routes, engineers incorporated them into a modified asphalt mixture for the road south of Hobart.
