PLASMIX-Road Plastic and Asphalt Synergies for MIXtures in low-carbon ROAD infrastructure

Challenge

Plastic waste and reclaimed asphalt are still underused, while road construction continues to rely heavily on virgin bitumen and aggregates.

Solution

PLASMIX-Road creates a circular infrastructure value chain that connects polymer recycling, asphalt production, full-scale road deployment and lifecycle monitoring. The project functionalises recycled LDPE for use in bituminous binders and combines it with reclaimed asphalt pavement to produce pilot road mixtures designed for compatibility with existing asphalt plants. The solution targets public infrastructure procurement and the wider Spanish asphalt market, with a production-cost target below €60 per tonne for the final mix.

Impact

The PLASMIX-Road demonstrator combines 10% waste LDPE with 30% reclaimed asphalt pavement, reducing the need for virgin materials while keeping the process compatible with current road-production infrastructure. By integrating recycled plastics and reclaimed asphalt into conventional production systems, the project shows how circular materials can be introduced into road construction without requiring major changes to existing asphalt plants.