PLASTICS Releases Results from Recycled Plastics in Asphalt Research

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) released results from its New End Market Opportunities (NEMO) for Film Asphalt Project in partnership with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT). 

Extensive testing shows that a new asphalt formulation using recycled polyethylene (rPE) film recovered from retail locations could reportedly achieve many of the same benefits of traditional polymer-modified asphalt formulations, including improved performance, decreased cost, and increased lifespan of asphalt. The new formulation represents a sizable end-market opportunity for recycled mixed films.

PLASTICS partnered with NCAT to conduct a battery of tests using federal and state transportation standards, a necessary step before large-scale implementation across the U.S.  

“PLASTICS is proud to have worked with NCAT, and all of our project partners, to produce the most comprehensive set of data on the effects of rPE in asphalt. We’re making our research publicly available in an open-source format,” said PLASTICS’ President and CEO, Tony Radoszewski. “The entire plastics industry is working to demonstrate the application of recycled material.”

Research shows that even in small amounts, rPE could improve properties such as stiffness and resistance, without cracking due to low temperature or fatigue. With the right blend of rPE and a reactive co-polymer additive, new asphalt formulations match the effectiveness of traditional styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS) at less cost.

“As a leading institute for asphalt research, NCAT was well equipped to work with our plastics industry partners to develop new formulations that can use recycled plastics,” said NCAT’s Assistant Research Professor, Fan Yin. “This not only creates a new and important end market opportunity but lays important groundwork for further testing around improving the lifespan and performance of roadways using recycled feedstocks – creating an environmental win-win for the asphalt industry.”

Based on successful lab-scale research on the latest rPE formula, PLASTICS is now working with several companies to use it on privately-funded roadways and parking lots. 

You can download the latest report here.