On Wednesday 23 November 2022, the award ceremony for the 7th Cresco Award-Sustainable Cities was held. In particular, Lexmark decided to award the "Circular Economy" prize to the Città Metropolitana di Torino for the candidate project "Verification of the feasibility of using recycled plastic as an additive for bituminous conglomerates".
This project refers to the experimentation started by the Città Metropolitana di Torino with the signing in August 2022 of a Memorandum of Understanding together with the Politecnico di Torino, and the two companies Acea Ambiente and Brillada.
Virgin and recycled polymers (albeit in a residual manner) are already used as an additive in road pavements to improve their characteristics.
The challenge and innovation of this experimentation is the type of plastic used: secondary raw material polymers derived from the preparation of plastic waste fractions that are not suitable for mechanical recycling and therefore end up almost entirely in incineration.
In application of the Protocol, Brillada has already carried out tests in the plant using different percentages of second raw material polymers, and the Polytechnic is proceeding to carry out the necessary laboratory tests that will hopefully allow this innovation to be validated in the coming months. The next step, if the first experimental tests are comforting, is to build a full-scale project.
The objectives also include verifying that road pavements made with these innovative mixtures can, at the end of their useful life, be used again for the production of new asphalts.
The contest promoted by Fondazione Sodalitas under the patronage of ANCI (National Association of Italian Municipalities) rewards the commitment of Local Authorities for the sustainable development of their territories, in line with the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030.
Again this year, more than 100 projects from 80 Local Authorities were nominated. These initiatives are added to the more than 700 submitted in the previous editions: this online database accessible from the Cresco-Award website represents a unique wealth of knowledge that testifies to the fundamental commitment of Italian Local Authorities to guide the development of territories towards a sustainable future.
Alessio Haberstumpf
Read more about the CMTO project:
Experimentation by the Città Metropolitana di Torino and project partners on the use of recycled plastic in asphalts presented at Ecomondo