Australian Food and Grocery Council

Business leaders, state and local government officials, road engineers and academics today toured the Alex Fraser Group recycling plant in Laverton, Victoria to see how glass collected through local council kerbside recycling systems is being processed to a nationally consistent standard for use in construction.

The new specifications were developed by ARRB Group, peer reviewed by GHD's Geotechnical Division and funded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council's Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF). Australian manufacturers of recycled crushed glass were also involved in the development of the specifications including the Alex Fraser Group, Benedict Industries, Colmax Glass, Hazell Bros and Recycled Glass Solutions NSW.

Speaking at the launch, Bill McArthur, President of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) which represents the majority of local governments in Victoria said:-

"MAV is delighted to be part of this initiative and to recommend to councils that they stipulate use of recycled crushed glass in their procurement policies. These new specifications provide a national standard and from this display here at Alex Fraser we can see that recycled crushed glass product is a quality product which can be used instead of mining our natural resources for sand or aggregate.

"I would also like to commend the PSF for their leadership in this initiative, and the manufacturers of recycled crushed glass who participated in the project. This is an excellent example of industry living up to their product stewardship responsibilities."

PSF General Manager, Jenny Pickles, said there had been a positive shift towards the use of recycled crushed glass in civil construction markets over the past year.

"More and more local governments have recognised the environmental and economic benefits of replacing sand and natural resources with a new recycled crushed glass product which has proven to be an effective medium in asphalt and concrete engineering works," Ms Pickles said.

"For the first time we now have a standard framework based on international best practice and local conditions which is available for use by local and state authorities and the private sector. Developing specifications and finding alternative uses for recovered materials is not something industry has done before so these partnerships represent a real opportunity for everyone."

The specifications provide the appropriate proportions and technical requirements for blending crushed glass with natural gravels and sand in the construction of roads and pavements.

Chief Operating Officer of the Alex Fraser Group Peter Murphy said he was delighted to showcase the production process through to the application of recycled crushed glass in a trial road at the site:

"We are committed to providing high quality materials for the civil construction market. This market requires consistent quality standards and glass is an excellent material for recycling into that market. It makes financial and environmental sense for us and our customers to use recycled products such as glass, asphalt, brick or concrete rather than mine our natural resources and increase the burden on our landfills."

"It's fantastic to see MAV and Vicroads educating end users about where they can use recycled material with confidence in place of virgin quarried products."

Through partnerships between the PSF, local government and industry there are already several sites nationwide demonstrating that using recycled crushed glass in roads and pavements provides a cost effective local solution for dealing with recovered glass containers.

In Victoria, Manningham and Brimbank Councils have constructed new bicycle and pedestrian pathways using a 100 percent recycled mix of crushed glass and crushed rock. Both councils have laid a total of 340 metres of pathways using recycled crushed glass in the sub base, the main load bearing layer of the pathways.

In Tasmania, Clarence City Council has designed, developed and managed the construction of a car park at the Rosny Tennis Club using recycled crushed glass in pipe bedding, asphalt, sign pole footings, concrete footpaths, kerbing and guttering.

In NSW, Waverley Council has constructed two 100 metre sections of an asphalt and concrete road in Bondi, designed and approved by the Road Transport Authority NSW using recycled crushed glass.

In total these project have diverted the equivalent of 920,000 stubbies from landfill.