Chapters 6, 7, 8

 Chapter 6 Results of Consultation and Policy Mapping

 Chapter 7 Materials to be Made from Plastic Based on Ilocos Norte’s Needs
 Chapter 8 Available Technology and Consultation on Which Technology to Use

Notes for Chapters 6 and 7

Based on the recent consultation with the Vice Governor, the direction of the policy is to
find viable technology that can be applied immediately. Chapter 7 on materials to be
made from plastic based on Ilocos Norte’s needs have been determined based on what
the province often has to buy or fix every year. This includes roads as well as chairs and
desks for Ilocos Norte’s public schools.

It is noted that there are more materials that can be made from plastic but that there are
limitations in terms of applicable technology as the provincial government has a capital
outlay to think about and said capital is, for all intents and purposes, limited.

  
Chapter 8 Available Technology and Consultation on Which Technology to Use

Plastic, the Enemy: What is It?

Plastic has dominated various industries. Everywhere a person looks, plastic is always
there. It is present in paper clips, spacecraft parts, and more products in between.
Because it is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, the non-biodegradable material has
prevailed over materials found in nature such as metal, wood, glass, leather, stones,
and the like.

In the developed world, a third of the plastic produced are used for packaging and more
of it is used for constructing buildings, furniture, toys, and even cars.

While its invention was celebrated in the world of polymer chemistry, the popularity it
has been enjoying since the early 20th century turned into a nightmare for the
environment. Plastic has a slow decomposition rate making it difficult to get rid of. To
remedy this situation, efforts toward recycling were led by various non-government and
government agencies around the world. However, due to its characteristics and the fact
that people use plastic on a daily basis, total bans have been largely unsuccessful. This
can be seen in Ilocos Norte's ban of single-use plastic, an important ordinance that has
not yet taken off due to a reliance on the material. 

A total ban without involving plastic manufacturers has not been successful in various
locations but this is not to say that it is a bad idea as it has its advantages. The single-
use plastic ban in the province helps the public learn about its hazards and may even
change how people interact with the material. It is important, however, to offer a helping
hand to the ordinance by using existing recycling technology that will give used plastic a
new purpose. This will, per the purposes of the zero plastic ordinance and as discussed
with the Vice Governor, ease the burden on our landfills and make use of discarded
plastic that will help delay its harmful disintegration. When it reaches the end of its
usefulness after it has been recycled, its final destination must not be landfills or
waterways. Due to this important consideration, new scientific discoveries will be
discussed to aid plastic material disintegration without harming the environment. Before
that part of the research, however, the matter on recycling technology must be
addressed first.

Recycling applicable plastic waste addresses the policy's primary goal of reducing the
environmental impact of said material. For it to succeed, the following must be
identified: the technical hurdles in making plastic into useful products and applicable
technology that will turn plastic into useful items.

Technical hurdles will eventually fall upon the assigned recycling facility. However, it is
still vital for this document to address these hurdles so it can be used as a guide later
on.

Here are the facts:

1. All types of plastic materials cannot be melted together. It has been found that
doing so will cause phase-separation akin to mixing oil and water. These phase
boundaries cause structural weakness in the recycled material. An example of
this structural weakness can be seen in the plastic bricks being made in the City
of Muntinlupa. 
2. There are two types of plastic commonly used around the world that the
provincial government's recycling facility can focus on - Post-consumer
polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) and soft plastics.
3. Plastic segregation standards must be put in place to help the facility segregate
the different types of plastic materials found in Ilocos Norte's landfills. 
4. Processing standards must also be put in place based on the end product and/or
technology that will be used.

Existing Plastic Recycling Technology

With technicalities and other policy-related concerns out of the way, we can finally take
a look at the most exciting part of the research - the technology that will be used by the
province. 
Plastic Roads

Kerala's Plastic Road

CNN reports that Kerala Highway Research Institute's Dr. S. Madhu has
formulated a road surface that uses recycled plastic. The report only says that
asphalt (bitumen) is mixed with shredded and melted plastic. The type of plastic
used for this bitumen-plastic mix was not explicitly identified but the report did
provide a bit of information:

"The process chops thin-film road-waste into a light fluff of tiny flakes that hot-
mix plants can uniformly introduce into viscous bitumen with a customized dosing
machine. Tests at both Bangalore and the Indian Road Research Centre indicate
that roads built using this 'KK process' will have longer useful lives and better
resistance to cold, heat, cracking, and rutting, by a factor of 3."

It was also mentioned that Dr. Madhu and his team melted the plastic "at a
temperature below 220°C to avoid pollution".

Claims: durable, monsoon rain resistant

Test: A test road has been built using 60kg of plastic for a 500m long, 8m wide,
two-lane road.

Plastic Road in the Netherlands

In September 2018, Dutch company Volkerwessels constructed a bicycle path

from recycled plastic in Zwolle, in the northeastern part of the Netherlands. The
Guardian says, "A second path is to be installed in Giethoorn in Overijssel, and
Rotterdam is the city most likely to take up the technology."

Plastic Roads in the United Kingdom

The Department of Transport announced a £1.6 million trial of a plastic road

technology in January 2019. The road material was developed by asphalt
enhancement company MacRebur. In the UK or MacRebur's process, 3-10 kg of
plastic is used for every ton of asphalt. According to the report, "the aim of the
initiative is three-fold: to use the millions of tons of plastic waste currently sitting
in UK landfills, to reduce the millions of pounds of government money spent on
new roads, maintenance, and pothole repair, and to make roads stronger and
longer-lasting."

MacRebur's technology includes MR6, MR8 and MR10, all of which are still
waiting for a patent. The ingredients used in these products are polymers or
plastic that "improve the strength and durability of asphalt and reduce the
 quantity of bitumen required in the mix," according to the company. The report
also says that "polymers are made from 100% waste materials and are used in
the making of both hot and warm mix asphalt. The method of manufacture for
these polymers means they contain no microplastics."

The asphalt enhancement was first used in Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway,
Gloucester, London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and in the Central Belt.
When it was announced, Gaist said that it will be responsible for the research
into the technology with the help of the University of Nottingham, University of
Central Lancashire, University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia and the
University of California.

Plastic Road in New South Wales, Australia

The first plastic road made from soft plastics and glass was built in New South
Wales in 2018. Sutherland Shire's council partnered with resource recovery and
recycling companies Close the Loop, RED Group and Plastic Police.

"Along with soft plastics and glass, toner from approximately 4,000 used printer
cartridges and more than 60 tonnes of recycled asphalt were also repurposed to
create 220 tonnes of asphalt used to construct the road along Old Princes
Highway between Cooper Street and Engadine Road in Sutherland Shire," the
council said in a press release.

Formula Comparison

All of these plastic roads used a plastic and bitumen mix except for the one in New
South Wales which was made from glass and plastic.

Based on the formula comparison, the type of plastic used in building these roads are
polyethylene terephthalate or PET, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and
high and low density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE).

These materials are sorted from plastic waste and then cleaned, dried, and shredded.
As noted by Dr. Madhu, shredded plastic is melted at a temperature lower than 220°C.
According to the process used in the United Kingdom, the materials are melted at
approximately 170°C. Hot bitumen is later added to melted plastic. Once that is done,
the end product can be laid the way asphalt concrete is placed. With the recent flooding
that plagued Ilocos Norte in late August and September 2019, this mixture can be used
in the repair of dikes and ditches later on or used for road repair. It is noted though that
this has not been done in large projects and a systematic approach for plastic roads has
yet to be put in place. Based on the calculations used by MacRebur, 3-10 kg of plastic
waste is mixed with a ton of asphalt.

Applications
  We can use soft plastics mixed with glass to build roads
 We can use PET bottles mixed with bitumen to build roads

What We Need

 The formula for these two applications

 The contact details of people who can assist us in making plastic roads

Contact Details

University of Kerala Karyavttom Campus

Salem-Kochi-Kanyakumari Hwy,
Karyavatoom, Thiruvanathapuram,
Kerala 695581, India
+914712305994

VorkWessels Netherlands
Podium 9 | 3826 PA Amersfoort
Tel: +31 88 186 6186
Fax: +31 88 186 6187
Press: +31 6 515 92 484
https://www.volkerwessels.com/en/home

MacRebur Ltd,
Unit 3 Broomhouses Industrial Estate,
Lockerbie,
DG11 2RZ
Telephone: +44 (0)1576 204 318
Email: info@macrebur.com
https://www.macrebur.com/

Sutherlandshire Council
Locked Bag 17,
Sutherland NSW 1499
Australia
Fax: +61 02 9710 0265
ssc@ssc.nsw.gov.au

The Envirotech Solution: Mixing All Types of Plastic to Build All Kinds of
Materials

The problem with mixing different types of plastic was mentioned in this research but
while talking to environmentalist and engineer Russell Thomas, Thomas said that a
company called Envirotech has solved this problem. The method involves melting down
plastic at lower temperatures to help the bind into one solid block.

The capital needed to get Envirotech to build a facility in the province is P20 million and
1000 sqm of space. The province can also opt to send its plastic waste to Envirotech’s
Zambales facility. It was noted by Mr. Thomas that he is interested in putting up an
Envirotech branch in Pagudpud and that a partnership with the provincial government
would be much appreciated.