THE FIRST recycled glass road to be designed and approved by the NSW Road Traffic Authority has been laid in Bondi. The project follows an initiative by Victoria’s Manningham Council, which recently used a 100 percent-recycled mix of crushed glass and crushed rock in the laying of a new bicycle/pedestrian pathway.

Both projects were funded by the Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council and have collectively diverted nearly 100 tonnes of recycled glass form landfill – equivalent to more than 564,000 stubbies.

NSW’s Waverley Council’s two road maintenance projects in Bondi will use 83 tonnes of recycled glass. The Victorian project used 15 tonnes of crushed recycled glass in the sub-base of the 240 metre pathway.

“These two projects showcase the use of waste container glass as a new and sustainable replacement for natural sand in footpath and road construction. More than 130,000 tonnes of beverage container glass is disposed of in landfills across Australia every year with three times this amount stockpiled pending a suitable use being found,” said Jenny Pickles, General Manager of the PSF (pictured below with Waverley Council Mayor Sally Betts).