Sydney schools join circular waste stream program that turns plastic into roads

Sydney schools join circular waste stream program that turns plastic into roads

By Rachael Ridley  May 25th, 2020

Two schools on the Central Coast, north of Sydney, have joined a pilot program from the Central Coast Council and Plastic Police to turn soft plastics into roads.

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Two schools located on the Central Coast, north of Sydney, have joined a pilot program from the Central Coast Council and Plastic Police to turn soft plastics into roads. The program takes soft plastics commonly found in lunchboxes, such as muesli bar wrappers and sandwich bags, and recycles them into an innovative road resurfacing product called Reconophalt. 

Budgewoi Public School and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School both had roads outside their schools resurfaced with the product during the summer holidays.

The use of recycled plastics in road resurfacing products not only diverts plastic waste from landfill, but has also been proven to increase the lifespan of the roads due to the recycled content making them more durable and less likely to buckle and crack.

Director of the Plastic Police program, Samantha Cross, said she was thrilled to see the program expand into schools and is looking forward to seeing the collaboration with Council progress.

“We are passionate about further educating these school communities about the simple actions they can take to help further reduce the waste sent to landfill,” explained Ms Cross in a council statement.

“What we hope to achieve through this program is to provide an opportunity for soft plastics to be recycled into useful products, while educating and inspiring communities to reduce plastic waste so together we can create a better future for our planet and ourselves.”

Mayor Matthews said it was fantastic to see community, business and government coming together to create real change to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

“This is an incredible initiative that sees waste generated here, recycled here and given a new life here for the benefit of our residents,” said Mayor Matthews.

 

What can I do?

  • If you work at a school and are interested in taking part in the program, contact Plastic Police for more information.
  • Waste toner from recycled printer cartridges is also used in Reconophalt and other roadbase Learn how you can recycle your printer cartridges at Cartridges 4 Planet Ark.
  • For educational activities that teach children about recycling, visit RecyclingNearYou.
  • To get your school or community involved in tree-planting activities, visit National Tree Day.

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By Rachael Ridley

Rachael joined Planet Ark in 2019 after eight years working in media and publishing as a producer, editor and writer. Rachael is excited to use her skills in content creation and communication to instigate positive environmental behaviour change.

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