Starting from 10 September, 200 tons of “plastic road” is due to be laid on a stretch of the N3 highway in KwaZulu-Natal.

The recycled plastic is used as a binder ingredient in the asphalt and replaces a percentage of bitumen, while also diverting waste from landfill.

The project is done by Shisalanga Construction, a majority-owned subsidiary of Raubex Group Limited.

In early August they paved 80 metres of road in Cliffdale in KwaZulu-Natal with a mixture containing the equivalent of 6,770 milk bottles of locally recycled plastic.

That project is believed to have been the first part-plastic road paved in Africa.

The SA National Roads Agency has approved a 200-ton trial on the N3 at the Hammarsdale Intersection. It will be monitored for long term performance.

“SANRAL as well as other research institutions will be part of the long-term performance protocol,” said managing director Deane Koekemoer.

The plastic road will be monitored to see its performance under South Africa’s unique weather conditions, which can range from extremely hot temperatures in summer to freezing cold in winter.

The recycled plastic is generated from local waste plastic and supplied buy a local recycling plant and the binder was manufactured in South Africa.