In 2021, Shanghai used 6,000 milk bottles to fight plastic waste; the result became China's 1st plastic road, turning hard-to-recycle bottles into useful paving material

Finding useful applications for difficult-to-recycle plastic can help keep waste out of landfills and waterways while creating fresh possibilities for everyday infrastructure. In Shanghai, a partnership between Dow and Shiny Meadow illustrated how used milk bottles and other plastic waste could be given another purpose by incorporating recycled plastic into road construction.

China’s First “Plastic Road” Project

Dow and Shiny Meadow, a premium dairy brand in China, partnered to divert plastic waste from the environment. Their collaboration resulted in China’s first ever “plastic road” project, utilizing recycled plastic from used milk bottles to construct a road.

The “Milk Bottle Road” was unveiled at the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) Xuhui Campus. Over 6,000 used milk bottles and other plastic wastes were used to pave a polymer-modified asphalt (PMA) road.

Giving Difficult-to-Recycle Milk Bottles a New Purpose

Although milk bottles are easily recycled, recyclers can be reluctant to accept them because leftover milk residue can result in a high rate of contamination. This led to a challenge for brands seeking to handle their packaging after it has been used.

Dow developed a solution using its materials science and technology expertise to collect such hard-to-recycle plastic and use it to generate PMA postconsumer recycled plastic for roads and other pavement.

A Shift Toward a Circular Journey

The partnership shows a broader attempt to move plastic away from the traditional approach of being made, used and discarded. Shiny Meadow said it was already using recyclable packaging materials in production but faced a challenge in addressing the end-of-life of bottles that recycling companies considered low-value.

Lin Rong, brand director of Shiny Meadow, stated, “We are pleased to have found a meaningful use for our empty bottles. At Shiny Meadow, we uphold the vision of a more sustainable earth, and this includes ensuring that the plastic products we use have a circular journey instead of the traditional take-make-use path.”

Support From the University

The East China University of Science and Technology welcomed the completion of the “Milk Bottle Road” as an example of using science and innovation to address plastic waste.

Prof. Li Tao, vice president of East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), said, “The University is delighted to see the construction of the “Milk Bottle Road” come to fruition today. As a tertiary institution focused on science and innovation, this collaboration gives us an actualized example of how we can tackle plastic waste in unique ways.”

The university also hoped the project would encourage students to explore unconventional sustainability solutions and develop creative applications on a larger scale within their community.

Dow’s Wider Plastic Road Work

The Shanghai project was part of Dow’s wider collaboration efforts to address plastic waste through partnerships in Asia Pacific. Dow began improving roads with recycled plastic in Depok City, Indonesia, in 2017 to help the Indonesian government reach its goal of reducing plastic waste in the ocean by 70 percent by 2025.

Following that trial project, Dow worked with KK Plastic Waste Management, Ltd., Rudra Environmental Solutions and two local governments to implement roads improved by plastic in Pune and Bangalore, India.

Dow most recently began a collaboration with Siam Cement Group in Thailand to improve asphalt roads with plastic. Together, these projects reflect an approach in which difficult-to-recycle plastic can be considered as a resource for infrastructure rather than simply discarded as waste.

Source: Dow

FAQs:

Q1. What is a plastic road?

A plastic road incorporates recycled plastic into road construction materials. It provides another potential use for plastic waste.

Q2. Why was a plastic road built in Shanghai?

The project was developed to give hard-to-recycle plastic a second life. It also demonstrated how recycled materials can be used in infrastructure.