According to a published study of the magazine “Science”, approx. 8 million tons of plastic ended up in the ocean alone in 2010. Scientific institutes do not only deal with the prevention of waste but also with its recycling.

In this matter, a Dutch constructor tries to turn plastic waste into something useful. His plans are to produce a street that consists of plastic. The decking is supposed to be more stable, lighter and cheaper than our today´s asphalt.

The so-called “Plastic Road” is very light, only requires a fractional amount of construction time and is less costly. It lasts three times longer, and there are no maintenance costs. Another advantage is that plastic is sustainable for extreme temperatures from -40 to +80 C° without getting destroyed –potholes should be an occurrence of the past. Furthermore, the constructor’s plans go one step further by using box-shaped bottom-plates that consist of plastic waste and are hollow inside. So pipes and cables can fit in between and rainwater can be deflected.

The raw materials used should only consist of recycling material and cooperation with the “Project Ocean Cleanup” could take plastic waste out the ocean with the help of filter-islands.

Today just an idea, conceivable in the future. Are we facing a revolution? Which influence will new materials have on road construction and do we still need current construction machines in the future?