My Eco-Innovation Three

Roads Made From Recycled Plastic Waste Could Be the Future

Roads made from recycled plastic waste could overtake the world by a wave. For instance, bike paths made from recycled plastics are already taking shape. Consisting of Lego-like blocks that stick to each other, this type of bike path can be repaired and or restored overnight.

And this is a modular concept helping cities become future-proof. A road that is a road and a buffer for rainwater creates space for all utility services like pipelines and cables for fast internet, in the modular concepts underneath the surface.

It is the first of its kind to be opened in the Netherlands, with an expected lifetime three times longer.

The plastic road is a modular Lego-Like system. A road will be delivered, pre-installed, and pre-installed, where you can click the modular parts of the road like Lego together, resulting in very robust, flat, safe, and reliable road construction.

Purely made out of plastics, a massive part of plastics are recycled. The first bike path is in Zwolle, 30 meters long which is a test under all-weather in all seasons and harsh circumstances. The plastic road is still under development.

The road is the first real-life test full of sensors to help learn the behavior under different conditions. They are using current technologies applied to make the road safe and, under all circumstances, slip-proof. For instance, there is heavy rainfall in the Netherlands, so the road is being tested under harsh conditions.

The road is safer than any other road in the country. We all hate when road works delay our journey, so a modular structure sounds like a great solution. But is it scalable?

The long-term goal is to prove that this is a solution that can compete with any conventional road. The solution underneath the plastic road is robust and can bear any load. But they want to prove step by step that it’s a robust solution.