In 2018, the Netherlands turned 1,000 kg of household plastic into a 30-metre cycle path; the road contained the equivalent of 218,000 plastic cups

In late 2018, the Dutch town of Zwolle laid down thirty meters of cycle path that looked ordinary from a distance, yet represented a radical shift in urban design. Engineers gathered one thousand kilograms of household plastic waste, roughly equivalent to two hundred eighteen thousand disposable cups, and transformed it into lightweight prefabricated road slabs. Built by civil engineering partners KWS, Wavin, and Total, the project proved that municipal trash could replace traditional asphalt without sacrificing strength.

Rather than solid pavement, these modular sections feature hollow chambers that store stormwater during heavy rains, protecting surrounding neighborhoods from surface runoff. Internal sensors continuously track structural wear and surface temperature, offering city planners real-time data on how synthetic roads withstand daily traffic. Because the panels last three times longer than asphalt and remain entirely recyclable, this short track reframed everyday litter as practical infrastructure for resilient modern cities.

The Netherlands Built a 30-Metre Cycle Path From 1,000 Kg of Recycled Plastic

The Zwolle pilot contains as much recycled plastic as about 218,000 plastic cups or 500,000 plastic bottle caps. That gives an otherwise familiar piece of cycling infrastructure a very different environmental story. Instead of treating plastic waste solely as something to dispose of, the PlasticRoad concept aims to give it a durable second use in public infrastructure.


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The first pilot is located along the Deventerstraatweg, between the intersections with Lindestraat and Verenigingstraat. Its relatively short 30-meter length is deliberate. This is not yet a citywide replacement for conventional roads, but a real-world trial where the material and construction method can be observed under everyday conditions.

The project was developed by Anne Koudstaal and Simon Jorritsma, who saw the potential for roads made from recycled plastic. Their first pilot represents a shift from an idea on paper to something that can be tested by cyclists, engineers and local authorities. As Koudstaal and Jorritsma put it, they now know how to make a PlasticRoad after initially having to work out that process themselves.

The road is also collecting data

What makes the Zwolle path particularly unusual is that it is not simply a physical experiment. Sensors installed in the pilot measure conditions inside and around the road, including temperature, the number of cyclists passing over it and the loads placed on the structure.

That makes it a smart cycle path as well as a recycled-plastic project. The collected information can help researchers understand how the material behaves under real traffic and changing conditions. Over time, those measurements should provide evidence about whether the concept can work beyond a small demonstration.

The design also uses a hollow structure. That internal space could be useful for managing water, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall, when conventional drainage systems can come under pressure. The idea is to combine the structural properties of prefabricated plastic elements with another practical need in urban infrastructure: moving excess water away from roads and paths.

Why plastic waste is at the center of the idea

The motivation behind the project is tied to the enormous amount of plastic used around the world. About 350 billion kilograms of plastic are used globally each year, while much plastic waste is still disposed of through landfilling or incineration. In Europe, recycled plastic accounts for only a small share of plastic applications, according to the figures supplied for the project.

PlasticRoad is intended to address part of that problem by creating a higher-value use for recovered plastic. The Zwolle pilot itself uses recycled material, while the longer-term ambition is for the road to be made entirely from recycled plastic.

That ambition also exposes one of the project's central challenges. Turning waste plastic into useful infrastructure requires the resulting material to be strong, reliable and suitable for long-term use. A pilot can demonstrate that the concept works in practice, but larger projects would need much more evidence on durability, maintenance, economics and environmental performance.

Prefabrication could change how roads are built

The PlasticRoad concept is not focused only on the material. Its modular design is intended to make construction faster because sections can be manufactured in advance and installed on site.

That could reduce the disruption normally associated with road construction. Less time spent working directly at the location could mean shorter periods of closures and fewer disturbances for people using the surrounding area. The project also presents the possibility of reducing construction-related CO2 emissions, although the scale of any such reduction would depend on how the system performs in wider use.

For the province of Overijssel and the municipality of Zwolle, that uncertainty is part of the reason for conducting the pilot. Both became joint clients for the first two trials, allowing the technology to be tested not only technically but also in terms of whether it could become economically viable.

Giethoorn will test a different setting

The next stage was planned for Giethoorn, where a second PlasticRoad pilot was due to be installed in November. Testing the system at another location is important because roads face different conditions depending on their surroundings and intended use.

Together, the pilots are planned to run for five years in principle. Their measurements can help the developers identify what needs to be improved before the technology is considered for broader applications.

The potential uses extend beyond cycle paths. The project partners have considered applications such as parking spaces, platforms and sidewalks, each of which would place different demands on the material and structure. Those possibilities make the trials less about one unusual bicycle path and more about whether recycled plastic can become a practical component of public infrastructure.

The Zwolle path therefore sits at an important middle ground between an environmental idea and a proven large-scale solution. It turns discarded plastic into something people can actually ride over, while sensors record how the experiment performs in the real world. The significance of the project will ultimately depend not on the novelty of its material, but on whether years of data can show that recycled plastic roads are durable, practical and worth building at scale.