The first roads in the Barwon region constructed using recycled glass are now open.
The City reopened Christies Road in Leopold and Walkers Road in Lara last month following repaving works that incorporated recycled glass as a replacement for sand in the asphalt mix.
Approximately 50 tonnes of glass was used in the base layer of the two roads. Every tonne of asphalt contains three percent of glass, the equivalent of 200,000 glass bottles and jars.
Road construction company, Fulton Hogan, crushes the glass at its facility in Lara into particles similar in size to sand. The crushed glass is then mixed into the asphalt mix and only used in the base layer of the road, which sits around 4cm below the final road surface.
Glass is not used in the road surface asphalt mix as yet, with further testing required to determine its performance.
Councils across Victoria are increasingly using recycled glass as a replacement for sand in road construction, which has seen an increase in demand for glass.
Using glass is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional asphalt. It also demonstrates the circular economy in action by diverting glass from landfill without compromising the quality of asphalt.
The Christies Road and Walkers Road projects were supported through grant funding received from the Commonwealth Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.
The City is currently in the planning phase for another innovative road construction project that will use recycled glass, plastic and crumbed tyre rubber in road construction. The project is expected to commence in April this year.
