The 1st Plastic Road bike path was recently opened in Zwolle, Overijssel (Netherlands). 30 meters of path contain recycled plastic equivalent to more than 218.000 plastic cups or 500.000 plastic bottle caps. The pilot location is equipped with sensors to monitor the road’s performance such as temperature, the number of bike passages and the durability of the road. With these sensors, this PlasticRoad is the first smart bike path in the world.
Worldwide, 350 million tons of plastic are used every year and the largest portion of plastic reaching end-of-life is still landfilled or incinerated. In Europe, all plastic applications together contain only 7% recycled plastic. The PlasticRoad creates a high-value second life for plastic waste by recycling it and using it to build roads. In this way, the companies want to create a durable outlet for the excess of plastic waste of today. The PlasticRoad pilot in Zwolle is circular and made with a significant amount of recycled plastic. The end goal is to use 100% recycled plastic. In addition to a possible solution for waste plastic, the PlasticRoad is a way to build roads faster, with less impact on the surroundings and with less CO₂ emissions. The prefab, modular elements make this possible. The hollow construction offers a solution for improved water drainage in the case of heavy rain fall.
Read more here.