Building the circular economy
The Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP) has established a partnership with the CRDC Circular Solutions (Australia) to improve the circularity of plastic recovered from e-waste recycling.
The purpose of CRDC is to create value from the world’s (hard to recycle) plastic waste and was born out of a powerful idea – to fully harness the potential of regenerative design.
The joint venture, CRDC Victoria, has built a plant in Melbourne using the RESIN8TM manufacturing process – the fourth facility of its kind globally and the first in the Asia-Pacific region.
Approximately 25% of the material used to make TVs, computer equipment and printers is plastic, which can be difficult to recycle and may end up in landfill.
ANZRP collects about 5,000 tonnes per year of plastic from e-waste. CRDC Victoria is now successfully using some of this plastic resource to produce RESIN8.
Watch the corporate video about creating value from the world’s plastic waste
What is RESIN8 and what are its applications
RESIN8 is a high performing and versatile mineral polymer that can be used in a variety of concrete and asphalt applications.
Its uses include:
As a lightweight, or insulation enhancing functional aggregate replacement in blocks
As an additive to increase stiffness in hot-mix-asphalt
To increase yield by acting as an insulative aggregate replacement in bag mixed concrete
Common product applications for RESIN8 include use in:
- pavers
- pre-cast concrete products
- additive to ready-mix concrete
- concrete blocks
RESIN8 is a construction material that harvests the beneficial properties of a problematic waste stream and utilises this to produce a new value-added material input that can be readily used in new building products.
RESIN8’s economic and environmental credentials
Benefits of RESIN8 include:
- provides 2.7 times the level of thermal insulation when compared to conventional alternatives.
- improves overall acoustics.
- is 3.6 times lighter than alternatives, which makes it more economical to transport.
- lowers water absorption.
- maintains strength during the product life span.
- fire resistant.
When used in asphalt applications RESIN8 also:
- increases the hot-mix stiffness without jeopardising its fatigue strength; and
- improves the mechanical properties of the mix.
RESIN8 is a carbon negative material which assists the building industry to reduce the embodied carbon in construction and infrastructure projects.
The RESIN8 process converts plastic into a mineral-polymer and from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. This means the aggregate bonds well with cement, unlike other pure plastic additives.
The product meets industry standards for compression, strength, gradation and fire resistance. All products produced using RESIN8 are recyclable at end-of-life – offering a truly exciting circular economy story.
RESIN8 in use around the world
RESIN8 is tried and proven and is now being used on several continents and numerous countries such as the USA, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and South Africa for a wide range of applications and projects, such as:
- as building blocks for affordable housing.
- high end infrastructure.
- blocks and pavers in construction projects.
- barriers.
- asphalt mixes.
- residential kerbs and channels.
Barriers
Costa Rica
Asphalt
Mexico, Costa Rica
Affordable Housing
Costa Rica, South Africa
Blocks and Pavers
USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, South Africa
High End Infrastructure
USA (Braskem)
Residential Curbs and Channels
South Africa
Which plastics can CRDC Victoria accept?
The RESIN8 process accepts plastic resins 1 to 7 and in both soft and rigid forms. It is also able to take commingled waste plastic and multilayered polymers. Input sources are summarised in the table below:
| Resin | Resin Type | Common Application |
| 1 | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) | Soft drink and water bottles, microwave food trays, mouthwash |
| 2 | High-density polyethylene (HDPE) | Laundry detergent bottles, milk, water, juice bottles |
| 3 | Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) | Bottles for shampoo, cleaning, cooking oil, clamshell food containers, plastic wrap |
| 4 | Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) | Squeezable bottles, bread bags, frozen food bags, plastic bags and packaging waste from IT equipment |
| 5 | Polypropylene (PP) | Medicine bottles, yoghurt containers, bottle caps, margarine tubs |
| 6 | Polystyrene (PS) | Food trays, cups, egg containers, carry-out containers, packaging waste from IT equipment |
| 7 | Other – including ABS/ HIPS from e-waste | Reusable water bottles, CD cases, sunglasses |
Delivering triple bottom line outcomes
The CRDC Victoria joint venture established by ANZRP and CRDC Circular Solutions (Australia) is also proving to be valuable beyond the production of new products.
CRDC Victoria has created 7 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs and will initially process up to 6,000 tonnes of waste plastic per year into new products. The facility, which was funded through investment by the JV partners and a grant of $500,000 from Sustainability Victoria, was opened by the Victorian Minister for the Environment, Steve Dimopoulos on the 29th of April 2024.