The company VolkerWessels, based out of Rotterdam, in Holland has proposed an exciting new idea that could help to recycle the tons of plastic trash that clutters the world’s oceans.
“It’s still an idea on paper at the moment; the next stage is to build it and test it in a laboratory to make sure it’s safe in wet and slippery conditions and so on. We’re looking for partners who want to collaborate on a pilot – as well as manufacturers in the plastics industry, we’re thinking of the recycling sector, universities and other knowledge institutions,” Rolf Mars, director of VolkerWessels’ roads subdivision said in a recent interview with The Guardian.
“Plastic offers all kinds of advantages compared to current road construction, both in laying the roads and maintenance,” he added.
Some of the advantages that he spoke of was the fact that plastic roads would be lighter, and hollow, which would allow for utility companies to install cables and pipelines under the road. The versatility of the plastic would also speed along road production, and would also make it easier to transport. It would also be better for the environment, because the production of asphalt creates toxic waste, while plastic roads would be taking toxic waste out of the ocean and turning it into something useful.
The local government in Rotterdam is actually open to the idea.
Jaap Peters, from the city council’s engineering bureau, told The Guardian that “We’re very positive towards the developments around PlasticRoad. Rotterdam is a city that is open to experiments and innovative adaptations in practice. We have a ‘street lab’ available where innovations like this can be tested.”
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
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