SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): The New York City is implementing a trial program that uses plastic waste along with asphalt to lay down city streets. The trial in an attempt to measure the effectiveness of the mixture, so as to proceed with widespread use of the same in more roads of the city.

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The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) has joined hands with Britain-based MacRebur to implement the trial project on two roads- Rice Avenue and Royal Oak Roads, in the borough of Staten Island. Three different mixes of unrecyclable plastics are being tested with asphalt to gauge their performance. The plastic waste additive part of bitumen binder, said MacRebur press release.

Roddy McEwen, international business officer at MacRebur noted that it has worked in cooperation with NYC DOT to begin trials in just four months. Typically, trial sections take up to three years from beginning to end, he said. The company has so far been successful in diverting weight equivalent to 214,000 single-use plastic bottles from landfills, thus delivering significant carbon savings, he added.

The test results on plastic roads by Rutgers University in New Jersey is expected by the end of the current year.