In 2023, an Australian city put 76,000 recycled bottles into its roads; 25 tonnes of crushed glass replaced virgin sand in a major resurfacing trial

Recycled glass roads Australia: In 2023, a road resurfacing project in Traralgon, Victoria, gave recycled glass a new role in local infrastructure. Latrobe City Council used more than 76,000 glass bottles and jars collected through local kerbside recycling services in an asphalt mix for a major road resurfacing trial.

The project used 25 tonnes of recycled glass in the wearing course of the asphalt. The recycled glass directly replaced virgin sand in the mix.

Latrobe City’s first large-scale recycled glass road trial

The project was Latrobe City Council’s first large-scale trial using recycled glass products in asphalt as part of its road resurfacing program.


The trial took place at the intersection of Seymour Street and Franklin Street in Traralgon, a location selected because of its high traffic volumes. The asphalt product used recycled glass along with reclaimed asphalt pavement, or RAP.

The wearing course contained 12.5% recycled glass, while the pavement course contained 10% RAP. In total, 25 tonnes of recycled glass were used in the wearing course, along with 47 tonnes of RAP in the pavement.

Recycled glass replaced virgin sand in the asphalt

Latrobe City’s road resurfacing program had historically used virgin materials such as sand and aggregate, including crushed rock and stone.

For the trial, glass collected through local kerbside recycling was processed and incorporated into the asphalt. The recycled glass directly replaced virgin sand in the mix.

Sustainability Victoria supported the project through the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund on behalf of the Victorian Government. The funding helped the recycled materials undergo laboratory testing as an asphalt mix before the material was used on the road.

More than 76,000 glass bottles and jars were used

The recycled glass came from Latrobe City’s local kerbside recycling services. More than 76,000 glass bottles and jars were used in the asphalt mix.

The glass was processed by DASMA, the contractor responsible for processing Latrobe City Council’s mixed recycling. DASMA and Gippsland Asphalt worked together on processing and producing the glass mix to meet the required standard for the project.

The project involved removing the existing surface and 100 millimetres of underlying pavement before replacing it with the new pavement and wearing course.

Recycled glass asphalt met the required standard

The asphalt product used in the project met VicRoads standard 407.

During installation, the contractor did not experience any major difference in laying the recycled-glass asphalt compared with conventional asphalt. There was, however, a slight difference in how the product compacted during drum rolling.

During planning, the total amount of asphalt required was miscalculated. As a result, the percentage of glass was reduced from the initial specification of 15% to 12.5%. Sustainability Victoria noted that this did not affect the total amount of recycled glass used, which remained at 25 tonnes.

Road surface was monitored after the trial

Following the project, the surface was scheduled for quarterly monitoring for cracking, shoving and defects. Sustainability Victoria reported that none of these issues had been observed at the time of publication.

The agency also noted that the surface had a sparkle in sunlight and a sheen from headlights at night.

The trial increased Latrobe City Council’s confidence in using recycled materials. The council subsequently completed additional projects using recycled materials, while future asphalt works were to allow suppliers to propose sustainable products.

The project demonstrated how locally collected and processed recycled glass could be used in road infrastructure.