WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – BUY RECYCLED
All roads lead to Buy Recycled FRANKSTON CITY COUNCIL HAS USED RECYCLED MATERIALS FOR SEVERAL RECENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. THEY WERE SO SUCCESSFUL, THE CITY IS PLANNING MORE LOCAL ROAD WORKS USING RECYCLED MATERIALS.
Reconophalt, a road surfacing material containing high recycled content, was used.
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rankston City Council in Victoria is committed to reducing its environmental impacts, so using recycled materials for a recent infrastructure project seemed a natural fit. The council received $300,000 from the Victorian Government’s Sustainable Infrastructure Fund to contribute to the construction of a concrete pedestrian footpath, concrete kerb, channel and indented parking, drainage works, road resurfacing and traffic management improvements at Brighton Street, Frankston South. It included ‘Reconophalt’, a road surfacing material containing high recycled content including soft plastics, glass and printer toner, and
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‘Green Pipe’ drainage pipes made from recycled plastic. Concrete supplied on the project included ‘Polyrok’, an aggregate alternative containing recycled soft plastics, which was used to construct footpath, kerb and channel and an indented parking bay. Cam Arullanantham, Council Director Infrastructure and Operations says the project’s success has given other council departments confidence to consider recycled products in future. “Council was able to successfully divert the waste from landfill while constructing essential road infrastructure. Using recycled products and materials
helped to reduce the overall environmental footprint, which is a great outcome for council and its community,” he says. Cam says there is a lot of community support for sustainable outcomes. He believes the success of projects such as those in Frankston will lead to an increase in demand and investment in innovative, environmentally friendly solutions by other councils. Frankston council’s procurement policy encourages the use of products that have minimal impact on the environment and human health and to support suppliers that are socially responsible and adopt ethical practices.
