The Kouga Municipality announced that it would be part of a project to build a one-kilometre, eco-friendly plastic road in Jeffrey’s Bay as a trial, in March 2019.
The project is now complete and Africa’s first plastic road has opened to traffic in Woltemade Street in J-Bay. About 1.5 tonnes of plastic, equivalent to 1.8 million plastic bags, was used to pave the road.
Scottish company MacRebur partnered with SP Excel and Scribante Construction (local civil engineering and construction companies) to pave the road using plastic pellets which were not recyclable.
According to The Good Things Guy, ‘the success of the road has started talks between the international company and South Africa about the possibility of opening a factory in Kouga.’
If the company does build a factory in South Africa, it will create jobs and excessive plastic waste can be utilised and potholes filled.
The official opening took place on Friday 28 February and the Kouga Municipality’s Executive Mayor Horatio Hendricks cut the ribbon. ‘The result is a road that is more durable and also friendlier to the environment. The plastic was turned into pellets using a special formula and then added to the asphalt mix used for the top layer of the road, Hendricks said.
Work on the road during October 2019 is pictured below.
Featured image: MacRebur
