Close the Loop has produced new sustainable technology for road surfacing and is putting it to good use in conjunction with Downer and RED Group.
As a recent blog by Cartridges 4 Planet Ark reveals, its recycling partner Close the Loop has unveiled a new road surfacing innovation known as TonerPlas. This additive has been created using “waste printer cartridge toner, collected via the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program”, in addition to soft plastics collected via RED Group’s program. TonerPlas provides a “superior asphalt” as well as helping to divert waste from going to landfill.
TonerPlas was created to tie in with the theme of World Environment Day, which falls on 5 June, and has been provided to construction company, Downer Group, which use it along with stockpiled glass and reclaimed asphalt pavement. The resulting asphalt “increases fatigue life to 65 percent”, which means it is more effective than regular asphalt. 
TonerPlas is being debuted in a suburb of Melbourne called Craigieburn, but is hoped that councils across the country will start using this additive on their roads “as part of the solution to turn waste into recycled products.”
As Cartridges 4 Planet Ark reveals, the sustainability figures surrounding TonerPlas are “impressive”, as one kilometre’s worth of the product equates to 530, 000 plastic bags, 12,500 used printer cartridges, and 168, 000 glass bottle equivalents. In addition, the substance incorporates 134 tonnes of reclaimed asphalt.
“Our close partnership with Downer and RED Group has allowed us to work collaboratively to improve the way we design and manufacture sustainable outcomes for waste that has meaningful uses. We are very pleased to set yet another industry benchmark, seeing soft plastics used for the first time in an Australian road,” said Nerida Mortlock, General Manager of Close the Loop Australia.
While this new product is an exciting release for Close the Loop, Australia has already been using recycled products on its roads for a few years now, with one council opting to use eco-friendly Noosa Asphalt, also made with recycled toner and cartridges, and the city of Canberra laying down TonerPave on its roads to help reduce its carbon footprint.
