In 2022, Melbourne's M80 reused 35.5m plastic bags and 22m bottles in roadworks

What if some of the waste we throw away could eventually become part of the roads we drive on? In 2022, Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road upgrade offered a striking example of how discarded materials can be given another purpose through major infrastructure projects. The upgrade between Sydney Road and Edgars Road became Victoria’s first major road project to use recycled content in every layer of its pavement. According to Major Road Projects Victoria and Victoria’s Big Build, the project incorporated recycled material equivalent to 35.5 million plastic bags and more than 22 million glass bottles, as well as material equivalent to hundreds of thousands of toner cartridges and passenger car tyres. It also used thousands of tonnes of recycled pavement materials, including reclaimed asphalt, while more than 400,000 tonnes of material were recycled or sent for reuse.