MacRebur lays first public roads in New York made of waste plastic
British company MacRebur, which produces products made from non-recyclable waste plastics, has worked with New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to lay the first public roads in New York created using waste plastic.
Located on Rice Avenue and Royal Oak Road in Staten Island, the two roads form the first stages of a trial aiming to see otherwise unrecyclable plastics ‘re-engineered into a new, high quality, sustainable polymer’ and used within the asphalt mix required for road construction.
Described as ‘eco-friendly surfaces’, MacRebur says the roads could save over 7,331kg of CO2e in comparison to traditional asphalt and have diverted the equivalent weight of 214,534 single-use plastic bottles from landfill.
The company’s waste plastic additive replaces part of the bitumen (fossil fuel) binder in asphalt mix. MacRebur and NYC DOT are working with asphalt producer City Asphalt to lay four different types of asphalt mix, with the first mix containing solely traditional asphalt, and the remaining three each consisting of asphalt mixed with a percentage of MacRebur’s Plastic.
Matthew Cruz, general manager at City Asphalt, added: “When NYC DOT advised us of the trial using waste plastic in asphalt, we were initially reluctant as we hadn’t had much experience with the introduction of new products into our new Gencor plant.
“However, as we researched the product and had the opportunity to discuss with other asphalt plant operators, our reluctance turned to curiosity and excitement. The opportunity to address a major environmental concern seemed too good to be true.
“With prices for bituminous oil being so volatile, anything that can be done to reduce the use of this product in our mixes and still give our customers the same high standard product that they demand from City Asphalt is a plus.
“We commend MacRebur for its efforts in attempting to address one of the modern world’s bigger issues, and we look forward to working with them to bring this new technology to the ‘Big Apple’.”
McDonald’s phases out plastic cutlery across the UK and Ireland
Fast food giant McDonald’s has announced plans to replace all plastic cutlery with a new paper-based material within all of its restaurants in the UK and Ireland.
Made from ‘resilient, renewable, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified pressed-paper’, the company says this new cutlery will be ‘fully’ recyclable and compostable. It will gradually be introduced in restaurants in England and Wales, as McDonald’s phases out existing plastic products.
A shift from plastic cutlery to paper-based could see McDonald’s eliminating 858 metric tonnes of plastic annually across the UK. The chain has already introduced paper-based straws, new cups without plastic lids and developed salad boxes made from card – saving 1858 metric tonnes of plastic to date.
This announcement follows a ‘successful switch’ from plastic to paper cutlery in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland in the first half of the year. The company aims to ensure customer packaging is made from renewable, recycled, or certified sources and is fully recyclable and compostable by 2024.
Nina Prichard, Head of Sustainable and Ethical Sourcing at McDonald’s said: “As a business, we’re committed to taking action on packaging and waste and increasing our use of sustainable materials. We’re pleased to announce another step forward in eliminating single-us plastics and it’s great to be switching our famous McFlurry spoons to this new paper-based material.”
Waste firm granted BEIS funding to explore hydrogen-powered machinery
ASH Waste Services has won funding of £175,844 from the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator (IHA) programme, to establish whether it can power its industrial machinery with hydrogen.
The programme, run by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and funded through the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, aims to see ASH utilising its grant to fund a six-month feasibility study into whether the company could power its industrial plant and equipment using low-carbon hydrogen instead of diesel and electricity.
The Wrexham-based waste management company could demonstrate an ‘end-to-end solution’ that is technically and economically feasible to produce low carbon hydrogen ‘efficiently and reliably’. It will review waste sector industrial processes and equipment for hydrogen alternatives with the aim of switching ‘over 50 per cent of its current equipment to hydrogen’.
A key benefit of the proposed solutions, the IHA highlights, is “to reduce the production of carbon across the value chain, from reduced waste to landfill, transportation costs, and the fact that the production of hydrogen via the proposed process emits less carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides per kg of hydrogen produced.”
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.