Next time you travel along Flinders Street, between Exhibition and Spring streets, take a moment to consider that the asphalt beneath your feet contains household waste.
We’re resurfacing five iconic city streets with 50 per cent recycled plastic – an example of how we can work towards building a circular economy.
A circular economy is a system that eliminates waste through the continual reuse of resources. This can reduce pressure on the environment, stimulate innovation and boost economic growth.
By contrast, the traditional linear economy has a ‘take, make and dispose’ model, where value is created by producing and selling as many products as possible.
We use 10,000 tonnes of asphalt and collect 11,000 tonnes of residential recycling each year.
By using recycled plastic and other recycled materials on our roads we’re creating more sustainable infrastructure and showing there are local markets for recycled materials.
This trial will help us understand whether it’s possible to use plastic we collect from households in more of our major projects.
