Australia’s first geotextile made from locally sourced recycled plastics is now on the market.
Developed by Geofabrics Australasia, the Bidim Green geotextile is made from recycled plastic bottles, sourced from Australian recycling bins.
The geotextile is designed to be used in infrastructure projects, including rail, and is manufactured at Geofabrics Australasia’s site in Albury, NSW.
Dennis Grech, CEO and managing director of Geofabrics Australasia, said that the product is an example of the emerging circular economy.
“Many infrastructure projects are calling for improved sustainability, and we’re the only Australian manufacturer in the market that is using recycled Australian plastics as a component of a geotextile, helping to reduce waste to landfill.
“Bidim Green has been made in Australia, developed and tested in Australia, and I am proud to lead a business that contributes to maintaining and creating local jobs and to reduce the environmental impact of our business and our customer’s projects on the Australian community,” said Grech.
Many infrastructure projects are increasingly looking to source a greater amount of their materials from sustainable sources, and in February 2020, Victoria’s Major Transport Infrastructure Project announced its Recycle First initiative, which unifies the approach to sourcing recycled products across Victoria’s $70 billion Big Build program.
Grech said that Bidim Green directly responds to such initiatives.
“Bidim Green is an addition to our world-leading Bidim geotextile range and contains Australian-sourced recycled plastics. It responds to the increasing call for greater recycled content in the construction and infrastructure industry.”
The recycled content in Bidim Green includes the polymer raw material, as well as the product’s consumables. This includes the plastic wrap and core, which are also made from locally sourced recycled plastics.
Geotextiles are used in the rail sector to separate the capping layer from the ballast layer, to provide separation and filtration in rail formation.