LARGE SCALE RESIN8™ ASPHALT TRIAL UNDERWAY IN COSTA RICA
Busy ‘Route 27’ now permanently houses non-recoverable plastic
San José, Costa Rica, January 2022. CRDC Global, in collaboration with Costa Rican partner PEDREGAL and Globalvia, an international highway operator, today announced the successful completion of sections of highway made with RESIN8™. Nearly 500 tons of asphalt containing between 1% and 3% RESIN8, which is made from hard-to-recycle plastic waste, were used to pave four 150-meter sections of the busy ‘Ruta 27’ in Costa Rica. More than 1 million vehicles travel on the busy route each month.
The pilot phase of the project used nearly 2000 kg of otherwise difficult to recycle plastic, which is equivalent of 57,200 plastic bottles. RESIN8 was added to the hot asphalt mix in controlled quantities – where it acted like a bonding agent – thereby guaranteeing its complete integration into the asphalt without causing segregation problems. Industry experts are paying close attention to studying the long-term impact of adding RESIN8 to high traffic roads.
“This is an extremely important development for the future of the plastic waste and for the road construction industry,” said German Gomez, CRDC’s factory supervisor in San Jose. “With this important first large-scale test, we are showing the commercial viability of RESIN8 added to asphalt, where it is meeting and even exceeding industry strength standards. Together with our partners, we are making our vision – to end the plastic waste problem – a reality.”
RESIN8 has been produced in Costa Rica since 2018 and plans are in full swing to expand production capacity to 90 tons per day. The new scaled-up plant, planned to begin operations the second quarter of 2022, will be capable of recycling most of the country’s plastic waste, including hitherto impossible to recycle plastic waste. Proving that RESIN8 can be used to improve both concrete and asphalt is seen as critical to ensure future off-take of the product and its long-term commercial viability.
“This project marks a historical milestone in the country and in the world in terms of showcasing the circular economy in action,” added David Zamora, Commercial Director of Pedregal. “We are showing that we can implement new and innovative economic models by disposing of non-recyclable waste through the creation of valuable new products, helping to build greener cities and better roads. Alliances such as these with Globalvia will help to cement Costa Rica’s status as a leading country in environmental practices and in sustainable development.”
