Springfield Properties has become the UK’s first house builder to use waste plastic to build a road on a housing development.

Springfield has used the more environmentally friendly asphalt product containing waste plastic on a section of road at the company’s Linkwood Steadings development in Elgin.

The product reduces the amount of bitumen needed in the asphalt mix but the new surface looks like a traditional road while benefiting from increased durability and longevity.

Springfield teamed up with specialist MacRebur and asphalt producer Pat Munro.

MacRebur turns plastic waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill into granules which are then mixed with a special activator, reducing the amount of fossil fuel required in asphalt production.

Springfield Properties’ North Managing Director, Dave Main, said: “The road in Elgin accounts for 20 tonnes of recycled plastic, the equivalent to 17,042 plastic bags or 6,000 plastic bottles, which would otherwise have been consigned to landfill or incineration.”

Sarah Lakin, Contracts Manager for MacRebur, said: “At MacRebur, we have worked with household names in the commercial sector, the Department for Transport, Highways England and councils to use our product in everything from roads to carparks and racetracks to runways.

“We are very proud to add Springfield to our growing list of clients and welcome them onboard as the first house builder in the UK to use waste plastic in their roads and we look forward to working with them again.

“We also hope this pioneering project will inspire other developers in Scotland to follow Springfield’s lead as our product is available across the country as well as the UK and abroad.”

Source: Construction Enquirer