On top of providing sustainability benefits, Close the Loop’s TonerPlas asphalt additive has proven to deliver better performance, lower carbon footprint and lower whole-of-life costs than standard asphalt roads. Roads & Infrastructure learns how.
Close the Loop’s founding ‘zero waste to landfill’ brand promise, and a healthy dose of determination, laid the groundwork for the creation of what would become an award-winning asphalt additive.
Staff from sustainable solution provider Close the Loop deeply characterised waste toner powder and travelled the world looking for recycling solutions before one trip to the United States, where they learned the potential for waste printer toner, a material that contains a high-grade polymer, to improve the resilience and performance of asphalt.
After developing an initial product and proposal, Close the Loop went door knocking. This led to a fateful conversation with asphalt and road maintenance provider Downer.
Graham Henderson, Manager Pre-Contracts and Development – Downer Group, says the initial proposal was enticing, in part due to the aspirations and passion of Steve Morriss, the Founder of Close the Loop.
“From Downer’s perspective there was sort of a light bulb moment, I guess you could say. We knew this was something that we needed to get behind,” Henderson says.
Then began development and trials, testing the products applicability in a variety of binders, mix designs and conditions.
“Steve Morriss and his team worked closely with our research and development department. It’s been a long time in development. I’d say it took about 10 years to achieve,” he says.
“[Close the Loop] did a lot of work with different types of plastics and toner. It took quite a long time to try all of these different ingredients while also aiming to optimise performance. We tried a few different iterations.”
This led to the development of TonerPlas’ predecessor.
“We had a product called TonerPave that was really the precursor to all of this,” says Henderson. “It was quite reasonably successful, but the market was mostly unaware at the time about recycled toner, they didn’t realise that toner could be recycled.
“[Close the Loop] started with soft plastics from the REDCycle Group. They melted that with toner, and it produced some great results. We had our first trial for the Hume City Council where we put in down on the first road and that was a great success.”
Persistence was key for Henderson and Morriss as they eventually broke into the market.
“We managed to get into the Victorian State Government, which was aided by ecologiQ. They saw an opportunity and facilitated conversations with the Department of Transport to listen and work with us,” he says.
“We went through that process and [TonerPlas] eventually ended up going into the M80 and Monash Freeways. Those were the first two projects and it’s been in numerous since. So far around the country, we’ve laid about 420,000 tonnes of product.”
The TonerPlas additive has been designed to melt into a bituminous binder and the asphalt mix. This helps to enhance the performance properties of the asphalt, increasing the durability, water and rut-resistance while also providing a sustainable alternative.
This is thanks to the recycled content, comprising toner from end of life print consumables such as toner cartridges, bottles and waste hoppers. Mixed post consumer soft plastic packaging waste and even recycled oil form part of Close the Loop’s patented formulation as well.
As Close the Loop Founder and Head of Circularity Steve Morriss recalls, the basis and foundation of TonerPlas’ success was centred on validating its quality and performance, instead of its obvious sustainability benefits.
Polymers have been used to improve the performance of the world’s best roads for over 50 years. TonerPlas is an extension of that knowledge, just using recycled polymers.
“The whole-of-life carbon footprint of the road is significantly reduced by the use of TonerPlas,” he says. “There’s also reduced whole of life costs, because you’ve got that extra 15 per cent of life out of the road.
“In the case of TonerPlas, there can be misconceptions and prejudices. For some people, as soon as you mention recycled, they think back to a time when recycled meant poor quality. TonerPlas’ performance is backed by independent science and we are now working with experts to accelerate improved materials circularity as well.”
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This quality was validated during Close the Loop and Downer’s works on the M80 Freeway project and hundreds of council roads before that.
“The M80 project used TonerPlas in a middle layer, a large volume of asphalt. We were able to save the Victorian State Government money as we were using a C320 binder, compared to a C600. TonerPlas performed better than the C600 binder, which is more expensive and more refined,” Morriss says.
“For TonerPlas to be part of a mix design approved by the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning with strong commitment to innovation and recycled content by CPB Contractors, was a significant milestone on this shared journey to low carbon asphalt.
“It proved there is only upside to using this product.”
Morriss reaffirms the importance of Downer’s contributions to the development and use of TonerPlas, saying the company opened new doors for the Close the Loop team.
“The partnership with Downer has been pivotal. Back in the day I was getting some mixed receptions and scepticism. I finally knocked on Downer’s door and the relationship really took off,” he says.
“They’re a top-tier asphalt company in this country and New Zealand. Close the Loop has never been an asphalt company, but we’re manufacturers of additives. We didn’t have the equipment or personnel to test the asphalt itself. We were able to evaluate the performance characteristics and improvements in a multitude of different binders and under a range of conditions.
“Between us we’ve laid thousands of kilometres of roads across every state in the country. It’s an awesome relationship but does not exclude Close the Loop working with any contractor or asphalt company. Downer wants this technology to grow just as much as we do.”
Morriss is similarly appreciative of ecologiQ’s contributions, saying the collaboration is a great example of circularity in action.
“There’s no doubt that we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the foresight of the Victorian Government to create [ecologiQ]. They recognised that you can have product stewardship programs, but unless someone is facilitating use of the resultant recycled materials and breaking down barriers, it won’t succeed,” he says.
Alexis Davison, Executive Director Engineering and Program Services, Major Road Projects Victoria says ecologiQ is committed to the advancement of products that can utilise Victorian priority waste streams and work toward a circular economy.
“It’s been amazing to witness the growth in the use of recycled materials across major transport projects since the Recycled First Policy was introduced. It’s helped to drive market demand and encouraged suppliers to innovate,” Davison says.
“These projects have not only considered the environmental benefits when choosing to use recycled products, but have also looked at the performance, quality and whole-of-life costs of these products.”
Close the Loop is set to increase its manufacturing capacity for products such as TonerPlas, with proposals being finalised for the expansion of the company’s current infrastructure.
“The future for us is about thinking global but acting local, making and using TonerPlas with local waste and local jobs. We see a future where TonerPlas is used in all new asphalt roads in Australia,” Morriss says.
Close the Loop’s work in this space has also helped to increase awareness around the recyclability of print cartridges. The ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ program, co-created with Planet Ark, sees Close the Loop collect, recycle and recover these products and materials as part of its zero waste to landfill promise.
This initiative has collected and recycled over 56,000,000 cartridges since its creation 20 years ago. Close the Loop is now the largest collector and recycler of end of life imaging supplies in the world.
Morriss says the appetite for low carbon, high performing asphalt solutions is there. Now the challenge will be catering for the growing market demand.
“That’s happening at a rate we believe requires us to decentralise and ramp up our technology and manufacturing capabilities. The key now for the industry is going to be balancing the ability to manufacture with the growth in demand,” he says.
This article was originally published in the September edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.