Recycled Roads

A new process has been developed that mixes recycled plastic bottles with ground-up asphalt from existing roads to re-pave them without adding new asphalt to the mix. Best of all, the resulting pavement is actually stronger than the original hot mix.

The new method – known as G5 100% Road Replacement System – replaces bitumen (the leftover sludge from oil refining) with PET plastic to hold the paving materials together. Using a machine dubbed a “recycling train,” the top few inches of the roadway are removed and ground to a specific size. The old asphalt is then mixed with the liquid plastic before being laid back down.

According to estimates, the process reduces emissions by up to 90 percent because it eliminates hauling out old materials and hauling in new – a savings of about 84 truckloads for every single-lane mile. In addition, repairs can be made at ambient temperatures. The new method also makes use of waste for which there is currently no use. And in laboratory tests, the manufacturer calculated that the new roads could last up to 13 times longer than traditional asphalt.

The City of Los Angeles will begin conducting tests on two sections of roadway starting in December.