Researchers in Hawaii are testing a way to turn discarded fishing nets and household plastic trash into asphalt roads. Early trials suggest these materials could give some of the islands’ waste a practical local use at the end of its life.
Jeremy Axworthy, a researcher at the Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR) at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, presented the team’s results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). “This work investigates whether it’s responsible to use recycled plastics in Hawaii’s roads,” shares Axworthy. “By reusing plastic waste that is already in Hawaii, we can reduce the environmental and economic impacts of transporting waste plastics from the islands, incinerating it or dumping it in Hawaii’s overflowing landfills.”
Since 2020, most roads in Hawaii have been paved with polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) to make pavement stronger and longer-lasting. Compared with regular asphalt, PMA is more flexible and better able to resist cracking, rutting, and water damage.
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Author: American Chemical Society, SciTech Daily
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