KarunaNews Story

In Australia’s Northern Territory, millions of discarded tires are piling up, with nearly half ending up in landfills and the rest sent interstate for recycling. Now, a team at Charles Darwin University (CDU) is turning that waste into stronger, more sustainable roads. Their research is testing asphalt and bitumen modified with shredded tires from trucks and passenger vehicles, combined with recycled plastics, to meet the Territory’s unique climate challenges. Roads built for cooler climates often fail under the Territory’s harsh conditions. By incorporating recycled rubber and plastics, Ramin Shahbazi, the study’s lead author, said researchers aim to match or even surpass the performance of traditional pavement materials. These materials could also reduce construction costs, avoiding the need for expensive polymers just to withstand local traffic and weather conditions. The project evaluates crumb rubber-modified binder (CRMB) and recycled plastic-modified binder (RPMB) for long-term durability. CRMB shows strong resistance to oxidative, thermal, and UV aging, suggesting it could make asphalt more durable in extreme environments. Shahbazi hopes the research will standardize the use of recycled materials in infrastructure and encourage investment in recycling facilities in the Northern Territory. “Investing in the specific recycling facilities for these materials will then contribute to the circular economy in the Territory,” he stated.