Recycled plastic noise walls approved
Victorians will soon reduce traffic noise and plastic waste after a new specification to allow recycled plastic noise panels was approved.
The game-changing specification follows the successful installation of the world’s first 75 per cent recycled plastic noise panels on the Mordialloc Freeway project.
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) is delivering this project and developed the specification with the Department of Transport and support from the Australian Road Research Board.
The specification will ultimately allow for up to 100 per cent recycled plastic to be included in noise walls used in Victorian road projects.
MRPV’s Director of Engineering, Dr Scott Taylor, led the development of the specification and described it as a wonderful example of Victoria’s circular economy in action.
“The panels installed on the Mordialloc Freeway were made using 570 tonnes of plastic waste – around the same amount collected kerbside from 25,000 Victorian households in a year,” Dr Taylor said.
“At the end of the panels’ design life, they can be recycled again to form new plastic products, including new noise panels.
“The successful installation of the revolutionary panels on the Mordialloc Freeway has paved the way for the new specification which will help future projects utilise recycled plastic in a way that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago.”
The technical specifications include considerations such as acoustic performance, design life, structural durability, fire performance, UV resistance and graffiti removal.
The performance-based specification helps to drive product consistency whilst defining the requirements that the finished product must achieve through a series of tests conducted to Australian and International standards.
“This is an exciting example of how we are seeking new ways to push the sustainability envelope and boost the use of reused and recycled materials on Victorian infrastructure projects,” Dr Taylor said.
The Recycled First Policy will be implemented across all future Victorian Big Build projects as well as the Department of Transport’s projects from 2022.