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INNOVATIVE ROAD BUILDING MATERIALS
In the year to September 2023, one Australian city used 6,790 litres of waste engine oil to build roads; it became a coating for stone used in road sealsIn the year leading up to September 2023, the City of Greater Geelong transformed thousands of litres of used motor oil into durable public...
In 2021, UMass Chan dismantled part of its First Road garage for a new research building; 8,445 tons of steel and concrete were reclaimed, 99% by weightUMass Chan Medical School in Worcester has set a remarkable precedent by achieving a 99 percent material reclamation rate during their late...
In 1972, FHWA used 5 inches of scrubber waste in a parking-area base at Washington's Dulles Airport. 2 years later, wet weather caused the experimental base to soften and be replacedEarly tests explored scrubber waste for road bases and subbases. Florida projects between 1977 and 1989 showed highly satisfactory performa...
Maine buried 20,000 old tires beneath a road and they helped against frost damage. Now engineers are exploring them for walls, highways and moreIn an innovative engineering experiment, shredded tires were utilized in road construction, effectively tackling both durability and tire w...
In 2021, Victoria used 2,100 tons of recycled road base to rebuild the Hume Freeway. 5 years later, its 850-metre stretch had turned waste into a longer-lasting road tooPlastic bags and glass bottles usually end up in the trash. In Australia, some became part of a highway instead. Engineers rebuilt an 850-m...
In 2024, Arizona engineers used 100% recycled glass to widen 23 miles of Interstate 17 at 19 sites, protecting concrete culverts built for a narrower highwayInstead of adding heavy soil and stone above aging concrete drainage structures, engineers used ultra-lightweight foam glass made from recy...
Nearly 300 tonnes of unwanted glass were headed for the landfill. Idaho used them to build a highway instead and solved a local landfill crisisEngineers have ingeniously repurposed discarded glass as a foundation material for highways, utilizing around 300 tonnes of crushed glass c...
In 2021, Missouri added just 1% waste plastic to a two-mile road, that tiny share consumed 10 tons, equal to 750,000 soda bottlesIn 2021, Missouri transportation officials discussed a road project that tested recycled plastic in asphalt pavement. Engineers from the Un...
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 materialShanghai’s “Milk Bottle Road” demonstrates how difficult-to-recycle plastic can be redirected toward useful infrastructure. Developed throu...
In 2023, Australia's Sydney put 120,000 glass jars and 200 tonnes of old asphalt on Clarence Street. 1 year later, its program recycled 670,000 glass jars into asphalt across the citySydney is using recycled materials in road renewal, giving glass jars and reclaimed asphalt a new purpose instead of sending them to landfi...
In 2024, Wales used 80,000 discarded diapers to build a road instead of sending 4 tons of waste to landfillCarmarthenshire County Council has collaborated with Nappicycle to conduct a groundbreaking road trial. Thousands of used diapers were skil...
In 2025, Nebraska put two million plastic bags into a 4,000-foot road; it became the state’s first recycled-plastic roadNebraska put the equivalent of two million plastic bags into a 4,000-foot road in 2025, creating the state’s first recycled-plastic road. T...
Realty firms must adopt scientific temperament, build sustainable housing projects: MoHUA SecyA housing ministry spokesperson has encouraged real estate companies to implement sustainable development practices, including the incorpor...
In 2022, Ontario's Durham Region used 400 tonnes of glass in a 3.6-km road pilot. 4 years later, it could reuse 240 tonnes of PET each year across Durham roads under its planDurham Region is testing recycled materials for road construction. Recycled glass and plastic will be used in a road rebuilding project. Th...
Los Angeles recycled old street asphalt with microwaves instead of buying virgin paving material; over 800,000 tons were avoided over 5 years, saving approximately $8 millionLos Angeles has pioneered a groundbreaking method for recycling old asphalt pavement through microwave technology. This inventive technique...
Piyush Goyal urges innovators to build social solutionsPiyush Goyal encouraged innovators to create affordable, sustainable social impact solutions. He highlighted lake cleaning initiatives in h...
In 2011, NASA built a 50,000-square-foot California office that used 90% less drinking water and was designed to produce 20% more energy than it neededNASA’s Sustainability Base was designed as a 50,000-square-foot office that used just 12% of conventional electricity and 10% of potable wa...
In 2023, researchers crushed discarded coconut shells into aggregate substitutes, replacing 10% of coarse aggregate produced 34.8 N/mm² concrete strengthCoconut shells offer a sustainable alternative to gravel in concrete construction. Studies show replacing ten percent of coarse aggregate w...
In 2025, Egyptian researchers mixed eggshell waste into clay bricks to block the walls from absorbing outside heat and transferring it indoors during hot climates; heat transfer dropped 50%Egyptian researchers tested clay bricks containing eggshell waste and found that a 10% eggshell formulation fired at 1,100°C reduced therma...
In 2021, RMIT tested shredded face masks with recycled concrete for road bases; 1 kilometer could use 3 million masks and divert 93 tonnes from landfillEngineers from Australia have introduced an innovative strategy for converting used face masks into construction materials for roads. This ...