This archive report was first published on 31 October 2019.
Published on October 31, 2019, a South African company has made history by using recycled plastic milk bottles to make roads.
Shisalanga Construction Company, the first in South Africa to lay a section of road partly made from plastic, has repaved over 400 meters of the road in Cliffdale, located on the outskirts of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province.
The company used asphalt made from the equivalent of almost 40,000 recycled two-liter plastic milk bottles, which is expected to last longer than the national average of 20 years.
According to the South African Road Federation, the country spends approximately Ksh. 351 billion ($3.4 billion) annually on vehicle repairs, and the use of recycled plastic milk bottles could help reduce these expenses.
Shisalanga Construction Company uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a thick plastic typically used for milk bottles, which is turned into pellets through a local recycling plant.
The pellets are then heated to 190 degrees Celsius until they dissolve and are mixed with additives, replacing six percent of the asphalt's bitumen binder.
Every ton of asphalt contains roughly 118 to 128 bottles, resulting in fewer toxic emissions than traditional processes.
Although the cost of making the roads is similar to existing ones, the company claims that its compound is more durable and water-resistant than conventional asphalt.
