Recycling waste plastics in roads: A life-cycle assessment study using primary data

The present study investigates – from an environmental perspective – the processes that lead to the conversion of waste plastics into recycled plastic pellets to be used either as an additive (wet method) or as a replacement of natural aggregate (dry method) in the production of asphalt mixes. Data from recycling facilities in Victoria, Australia, were collected and used as the basis for a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) study. Analyses were conducted by considering several replacement ratios of virgin material by its recycled counterpart in the so-called wet and dry method. A case study considering the production of recycled-plastic asphalt to be applied in the construction of a typical surface layer of a road in Victoria was evaluated. In general, the results show that recycling plastics as a polymer for bitumen modification and as a synthetic aggregate replacement in asphalt mixes has the potential to be environmentally advantageous compared to their virgin counterpart (i.e. virgin polymers and natural quarry aggregates).

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141842
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720353717
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00489697
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Santos, J
  • Pham, A
  • Stasinopoulos, P
  • Giustozzi, F
• Publication Date: 2021-1-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 141842
• Serial:
  • Science of the Total Environment
  • Volume: 751
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0048-9697
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Asphalt additives; Asphalt pavements; Life cycle analysis; Plastics; Recycled materials
• Geographic Terms: Victoria (Australia)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01849696
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 24 2022 5:07PM