More than three kilometres of recycled pipes have been installed to improve stormwater drainage on the Sunbury Road Upgrade in Victoria.
Part of Victoria’s Big Build, the upgrade includes adding extra lanes, traffic lights, new walking and cycling connections and building a new bridge.
Major Road Projects Victoria Program (MRPV) Director Dipal Sorathia said the project is settng an example for sustainability and providing best environmental outcomes.
The colourful, speckled pipes, manufactured locally in Kyabram by RPM, are 100 per cent recycled high-density polyethylene, made up of a variety of household plastic materials, including milk bottles, shampoo bottles and kitchen and laundry product packaging.
Up to 5000 milk bottles are recycled to produce one 630 millimetre RPM pipe – equivalent to more than 1.3 kilometres of waste milk bottles laid end to end.
About 80.5 tonnes of recycled plastic in total was used to build the pipes along this project, including more than 2.75 million recycled plastic bottles.
The innovative piping is lighter than traditional concrete pipes, making them safer and quicker to install.
The shift to recycled products is being driven by Victoria’s ecologiQ program, which is leveraging Victoria’s Big Build to boost the use of recycled and reused materials in line with the Victorian Government’s Recycled First Policy.
Recycled First is being implemented across future Victorian Big Build projects as well as Department of Transport and Planning projects from 2022.
The Sunbury Road Upgrade will be completed by 2025.
For more information, visit: www.bigbuild.vic.gov.au
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