In October 2019, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and the Asphalt Institute created a joint task force to evaluate the potential of using recycled plastics in asphalt. The task force hired the National Center for Asphalt Technology to conduct a literature review, which yielded two recently published documents.
The first is a report titled, “Recycled Plastics in Asphalt Part A: State of the Knowledge.” This document contains summaries of plastic recycling practices, available research and research gaps that need to be bridged.
The second report titled, “Recycled Plastics in Asphalt Part B: Literature Review,” presents the findings of more than 110 articles and reports that evaluate the use of plastics in asphalt.
NAPA also discussed plastics on its latest podcast episode of "Pave It Black" and created a shareable video to help inform political leaders, transportation officials and the general public on what the asphalt industry is doing to evaluate the potential for using plastic in asphalt.
The release of these materials comes on the heels of the passage of the new Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. Included in the legislation is a provision authorizing the National Academies of Science to conduct a study on repurposing plastic waste in infrastructure. In early August, the House of Representatives approved and sent to the Senate the fiscal year 2021 appropriation bill for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD). The bill included $800,000 for research on using plastic in infrastructure.
