Reconophalt™ is the first road surfacing material in Australia containing high recycled content derived from waste streams, such as soft plastics, glass and toner, which would otherwise be bound for landfill or stockpiled.

Reconophalt™ brings no increased environmental risk and substantial broader sustainability and performance benefits to our customers and their communities.

Watch our video here. 

Recycled materials

Reconophalt™ can contain:

  • Soft plastics from plastic bags and packaging
  • Waste glass destined for landfill
  • Waste toner from used printer cartridges
  • Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) from end-of-life roads
  • Crumb rubber from end-of-life tyres
  • Coarse aggregate and sand from street sweepings and hydro-excavation materials processed at Downer’s detritus processing facility.

Extensive testing

Downer conducted research and development for Reconophalt™ for over two years. In an Australian-first, Downer’s Reconophalt™ has been approved for use in road construction by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) under a Resource Recovery Order and Exemption.

Following 18 months of extensive testing under a program designed in conjunction with the NSW EPA, including the potential leaching of BPA and release of microplastics, we have proven Reconophalt™ brings no increased environmental risk compared to standard asphalt while providing considerable sustainability and performance benefits.

Reconophalt has also received the first cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessment for an asphalt product, in a world first for such a product. Download the Environmental Product Declaration.

Superior performance

Recycled materials coupled with an innovative product mix design increases the fatigue life of Reconophalt™ asphalt, improving durability and resistance to cracking.

Performance testing of some Reconophalt™ products have shown up to 65% improvement in fatigue life and superior deformation resistance for withstanding heavy vehicular traffic.

  • Increased pavement life in years: ~15% or 3 years
  • Increased traffic count volume: ~20%
  • Pavement thickness reduction: ~10%

Cost competitive

Reconophalt™ is cost-competitive with standard asphalt. The pricing for the product is dependent on several factors which are highly variable and dependent on the composition of the material and percentage of recycled content. However, if we analyse the performance of the product over time, Reconophalt™ provides a superior resistance to deformation for withstanding heavy vehicular traffic compared to standard asphalt. Therefore, whole of life costs are significantly less when Reconophalt™ is compared to standard asphalt applied in the same application.

Award winning innovation

  • Winner, Large Business Category, Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards 2019
  • Winner, Innovation Category, NSW Premier Environmental Green Globe Awards 2019
  • Finalist, Resource Efficiency Award, NSW Premier Environmental Green Globe Awards 2019
  • Winner, Excellence in Asset Management, Innovation, or Sustainability, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (Tas) Excellence Awards 2021

Download the Reconophalt™ information sheet.

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