Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride?

via BBC

From lower carbon emissions to fewer potholes, there are a number of benefits to building a layer of plastic into roads.

On a road into New Delhi, countless cars a day speed over tonnes of plastic bags, bottle tops and discarded polystyrene cups. In a single kilometre, a driver covers one tonne of plastic waste. But far from being an unpleasant journey through a sea of litter, this road is smooth and well-maintained – in fact the plastic that each driver passes over isn’t visible to the naked eye. It is simply a part of the road.

Read the full story: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210302-could-plastic-roads-make-for-a-smoother-ride

How does plastic debris make its way into ocean garbage patches?

via EurekAlert

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2021 — Tons of plastic debris get released into the ocean every day, and most of it accumulates within the middle of garbage patches, which tend to float on the oceans’ surface in the center of each of their regions. The most infamous one, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is in the North Pacific Ocean.

Researchers in the U.S. and Germany decided to explore which pathways transport debris from the coasts to the middle of the oceans, as well as the relative strengths of different subtropical gyres in the oceans and how they influence long-term accumulation of debris.

Read the full story here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/aiop-hdp022521.php

Discarded Face Masks Used to Improve Road Materials

via ThomasNet.com

According to a report in New Atlas, the masks are being utilized in a material called recycled concrete aggregate – or RCA – that’s mostly made up of processed building rubble. In this case, the “recipe” is being tweaked and 1% of the traditional RCA is being replaced with the non-woven layers of plastic found in shredded masks.

The scientists are not only able to find a use for the discarded masks that doesn’t involve a landfill or an incinerator, but they also provide a benefit: the end product, which still meets civil engineering standards for road base layers, has improved flexibility over previous formulas. And while a road that’s one percent mask doesn’t sound like it’s making a dent, think of it this way: the scientists say that if their material were used to build a two-way roadway that’s just one kilometer in length, it would divert about 3 million masks from the landfills.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3qdLzIT

Plastics Recycling Company Domino Plastics Expands Operations with an Additional Southeastern Location

plastic recycling

WILDWOOD, Florida – With a new location now in full operation in Wildwood, Florida, plastic scrap buyer Domino Plastics is able to continue providing fast service to plastics manufacturers in the southeast. The new location helps the company streamline scrap pickups for customers in the region. Domino Plastics has nationwide warehouses to meet the recycling needs of manufacturers of plastic across the United States. The additional location helps the company maintain its expedited, reliable scrap pickups for all the companies they serve.

Michael Domino, COO of Domino Plastics Company commented, “Our goal at Domino Plastics has always been to reduce plastics in landfills and waterways. With the new location in operation we can better manage this region’s volume of scrap pickup and help manufacturers achieve their own sustainability initiatives.”

Founded in 1983, Domino Plastics Company buys and sells plastic materials in the USA, Mexico and Canada, helping plastic manufacturing businesses with their scrap recycling and recycled materials supplies. They deal in most types and forms of plastic materials including polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, and polyvinyl chloride. 

The company buys scrap materials from a variety of manufacturing companies such as packaging, automotive, injection molders, and thermoformers. Domino Plastics recently supplied recycled polyethylene (rPE) for a paving project.

To learn more about how to recycle plastic scrap or to purchase recycled plastic visit: www.domplas.com.