(SPOT.ph) Nobody wants plastic in their lives—so it's always nice to hear anybody, from families to huge companies, taking steps towards more sustainable living. The San Miguel Corporation is doing exactly that with one of their projects: they're working on the country's first ever asphalt road made with recycled plastics. It's one way to keep plastic wastes out of landfills and give them a new practical and functional form.
The asphalt-and-recycled-plastics-mix is currently being tested with a trial road laid out in San Miguel Corporation's (SMC) logistics center in General Trias, Cavite. Around 900 kilograms of plastic waste (equal to around 180,000 sachets and plastic bags, FYI) were used to create the asphalt for the test road—which will be exposed to a daily beating by the conglomerate's trucks and other heavy equipment.
Plastic waste acts as a binder for the asphalt, but the resulting road made from the mixture looks just like any other. The plastic content could even help make roads more durable and longer-lasting than ones made with conventional asphalt, according to a statement from SMC. The company also noted that the recycled road surpasses the standards set by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
SMC is still completing tests on the recycled plastic mixture, and if it passes, they will be using it for their infrastructure projects. The conglomerate is currently heading the construction of the Skyway and the Bulacan International Airport, so we've got our fingers crossed that we get to see more plastics—the recycled kind, that is.
this strange new world.
