SMC ups the ante in sustainable infra, to roll out roads from recycled plastic

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) is taking a more sustainable track in building infrastructure in the country, starting with roads built out of recycled plastic materials.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said his group plans to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment through this initiative.

The company has partnered with Dow Chemical Co., a multinational science firm, to transform hard-to-recycle plastic materials to asphalt inputs for road construction.

Ang explained that developing roads using plastic materials, which would have otherwise ended up in landfills or our bodies of water, is an environment-friendly method of disposing scrap plastics.

“We can help our environment and, at the same time, improve the quality of our infrastructure projects. We are eager to begin this initiative,” he added.

The official explained that the company is still testing how the use of recycled materials could be effective in the Philippine setting.

Initially, the company will use these materials to build smaller municipal roads, sidewalks and parking lots.

Ang said if the technology proves effective and meets all safety and quality requirements, the company may roll it out for larger infrastructure projects.

“While we are proud to be the first-mover in this area, we are very hopeful that we won’t be the last or the only ones. The research is there and available to everyone, and we’ll be glad to share our own processes and experience. At the end of the day, this kind of innovation will benefit the same environment we all share,” he said.

Among the benefits of using recycled plastic materials for road surfacing are: improved stability and durability of roads; increased skid resistance, which improves road safety; longer lifespan of roads; lower asphalt costs, and less waste destined for landfills.

Dow has worked on projects that use plastic materials for modifying the properties of bitumen—used in the making of asphalt—and which have been tested in India, Indonesia and Thailand.

“This initiative is part of our push toward greater sustainability. Two years ago, we announced our major water sustainability project: to cut SMC water use by 50 percent by 2025. Recently, we reported that we beat our 2020 intermediate deadline of 20-percent reduction, by two years. Last year, we announced another initiative, and that is to address solid waste pollution. This project is part of that goal,” Ang said. Lorenz S. Marasigan