The Western Australian Government’s pilot program Roads to Reuse project is set to be expanded to reuse construction material from the former Princess Margaret Hospital site in Perth.
The program uses recycled construction and demolition material to create a road base to be used in other projects.
The pilot program has previously used more than 25,000 tonnes of recycled construction and demolition material as part of the Kwinana Freeway Northbound Widening Project.
A further 7,000 tonnes of material was used in the Murdoch Drive Connection project.
The former Princess Margaret Hospital Site now has six buildings which have been destroyed with an additional six buildings yet to be demolished.
It is estimated that 80,000 tonnes of non-hazardous material will be recycled from the demolition site.
Western Australian Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said projects such as the Roads to Reuse pilot were essential for developing sustainable methods of construction.
“Construction and demolition waste makes up about half of WA’s waste stream and represents about half of material recovered for recycling,” she said.
“We are working hard to increase the recovery of construction and demolition to meet the sate’s target to recover 75 per cent of materials by 2030.”
Roads to Reuse was a pilot project between the Waste Authority and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, in partnership with Main Roads WA and with assistance from the Waste and Recycling Industry Association of WA, which was completed in 2020.
Since 2019, the program has diverted 62,000 tonnes of material to be used in Western Australian roads.
The Western Australian Government plans to roll out additional methods to help reduce waste and meet state recovery targets.
DevelopmentWA has committed to ensuring all projects with demolition works over $1 million and development projects over $5 million will be required to produce a waste management plan targeting a minimum 75 per cent waste avoidance and resource recovery.
The findings of the Roads to Reuse pilot are available on the Waste Authority website.
Related stories:
- Recycled roads on the rise
- Kwinana Fwy to trial recycled material as road base
- Western Australia to see $250 million for regional road upgrades in 2021