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Recycled printing toner used to build Australian roads

Xinhua, May 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sydney is trialing the use of recycled printing toner to build new roads, the Guardian Australia reported Wednesday.

TonerPave, developed in partnership by Sydney road infrastructure service provider Downer and printing cartridge recycling company Close The Loop, blends recycled printing toner with recycled oil, becoming 40 percent more energy efficient than the manufacture of standard bitumen.

The commercial trial of TonerPave in warm mix asphalt in Sydney Central Business District (CBD) road construction projects is a world first for the technology.

The city's construction manager Andrew Christie said the product must prove as resilient as regular asphalt before wide scale roll-out.

"In two or three years we should have an indication if it is a good alternative to traditional asphalt," Christie said.

Warm mix asphalt, which heats bitumen 20-50 degrees celsius lower than regular asphalt, has been used in the Sydney CBD since 2010. Incorporating TonerPave is part of city's attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent before 2030. Endi