I had an idea when I was a child that you could have roads made out of rubber and tyres made out of tar seal. Just to mix things up a bit.
gsimpson,
Mar 4, 5:07am
What about all the micro plastic waste that ends up in the waterways as the plastic wears and degrades in the sun?
harm_less,
Mar 4, 5:24am
Read the article linked in the OP. These issues are addressed.
scuba,
Mar 4, 5:55am
More admitted than addressed
apollo11,
Mar 4, 6:41am
Ground rubber is often added to roads overseas, I don't know if we do it here.
lakeview3,
Mar 4, 6:43am
Anything would be better than the pot holed gravel pits we have around here
philltauranga,
Mar 4, 6:53am
Recycled glass was being trialed a few years ago as well, it was crushed to sand and added to the asphalt. In Tauranga, over 10 years ago from memory they did a trial where fiberglass strands were added to the asphalt to try and improve its strength.
gsimpson,
Mar 4, 7:53am
The quotes lack hard evidence and comprise mainly of wishful thinking.
hotelcarpet,
Mar 4, 8:21am
Rubber is used extensively on running tracks the asphalt is usually coloured also.
tygertung,
Mar 4, 9:24am
And there is no way to dispose of the road when it is damaged, just loads of microplastics floating around the place.
lakeview3,
Mar 4, 11:02am
they did used to be proper but they have just been neglected due to all the road money being spent on other areas like obviously where you live. Been happening for years. Every time it rains, the potholes open up again. They may as well use a bandaid to fix them - it may last longer than the patch up job that keeps occurring.
I think it could be used at landfill sites to a good effect. Working in various areas of construction, I have used asphalt millings from major road rebuilds to form a cap over gravel roads used by trucks. If it is relayed reasonably quickly and correctly by getting it level and cambered before you run the loaded trucks over it then the millings seems to reset itself and form a nice hard cap over the gravel, it seems to be more water resistant in the wet, and less dusty in the dry. Could be used for the roads inside a landfill area, or even to make a waterproof cap over the landfill to reduce water soaking through the rubbish, potentially reducing the amount of leachate. I'm guessing most of the plastic would stay bound up in the asphalt when it was milled up for repairs anyway.
skiff1,
Mar 5, 1:58am
in this scenario, the plastics are no longer bonded into the asphalt and are free to make their way to the ocean. Not really ideal. I’m firmly convinced that the ban on plastic bags is a waste of time and that plastics are a boon to modern society. On the other hand, plastic pollution is real, and this idea seems to be likely to exacerbate the problem.
philltauranga,
Mar 5, 4:58am
The method being used in NZ, where the recycled plastic is bonded into the asphalt, tests have shown it does stay bonded even after it has been milled up. If it is reused again for roading or capping within a landfill area then surface rain water can easily be contained and treated, no risk of going to the ocean.
tygertung,
Mar 5, 6:07am
Is putting mulched up plastic contaminated asphalt into the landfill a long term solution? Perhaps it is a temporary solution.
philltauranga,
Mar 5, 6:52am
Yea it is going to landfill where it can be contained but its being recycled for a third time AT the land fill, they need haul roads and material to cap the rubbish. If it turned out to be water proof then it could be contoured for watershed, have drainage material put on top followed by the soil and various layers of geosynthetic materials/cloth which they currently use, the millings end of life is in a landfill but it becomes a waterproof layer in the cap on top of the landfill or as part of the floor. Recycling it for a third time, that would be a good thing wouldn't it?
3tomany,
Mar 5, 9:25am
The whole idea of spreading plastic all over our country simply gives me the $hit$.
gyrogearloose,
Mar 5, 10:33am
Sounds like a job creation scheme, do a half job now, a half job next time, and two half jobs don't equal a full fix despite anything the maths teacher says. The hole will keep getting bigger because the half job breaks off a bit more good seal each time it fails, and that keeps the repairmen employed. I'd suspect collusion between the council and the company that does the repairs.
philltauranga,
Mar 5, 10:41am
From what I read, the stuff being used in NZ, PlastiPhalt and Plas Mix The recycled plastic is used to substitute a polymer already used in asphalt- hotmix, the plastic is melted into it with the stones and other polymer binders when it is made. Milled up old asphalt can also be recycled back into new asphalt when it is made, there are various methods of restoring asphalt as well. Is it really much different from what is already in use?
philltauranga,
Sep 5, 4:41pm
Perhaps the best use for this plastic asphalt is to use it as a landfill liner, asphalt is being used in some places around the world. If it didn't need to be strong enough to withstand trucks driving on it, they may be able to change the mix up to one that suits. It may be able to have even more recycled plastic, crushed recycled glass and even recycled asphalt and other perhaps contaminated gravel from around industrial areas all added to the asphalt-hotmix. All stuff that would normally go in the dump, that would be pretty cool if it could work.
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