Toner Cartridges Could Be Used To Build New Zealand Roads

Toner cartridges could be used to lay roads in New Zealand under an innovative new recycling project taking place in the country.

Three firms are investigating whether waste toner recovered from recycled cartridges could be used as a replacement for oil, which is used to make bitumen and polymer modified bitumen (PMB), both materials which are used in road-laying and repairs, the New Zealand Herald reports.

If it proves successful, it could mean diverting 15 tonnes of waste toner ever year from landfill and into roads, significantly cut the volume of oil imported into the country, and be very cost-effective.

Croxley Stationery, Ricoh and Downing are the companies involved.

"Early testing has seen the successful inclusion of waste toner, left over from photocopiers and other devices in both bitumen and PMB," Ricoh New Zealand managing director Mike Pollok told the newspaper.

Other toner cartridges firms will be invited to join the project if it is successful, potentially resulting in New Zealand achieving 100 per cent recycling of its toner waste.

Last year, discarded toner cartridges were used to make a bike path in Australia.

Posted by Canzil Ahmed.