Hawaii is turning ocean plastic and fishing nets into roads

Hawaii is exploring how to turn ocean plastic and discarded fishing nets into road material to address a growing waste problem. Researchers presented early results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, saying the approach could give plastics an alternative destination instead of ending up in landfills or the ocean. Jeremy Axworthy of the Center for Marine Debris Research at Hawaiʻi Pacific University said the work tests whether using recycled plastics in Hawaii roads is responsible, aiming to reduce environmental and economic impacts linked to transporting waste or resorting to incineration. Since 2020, most Hawaiian roads have used polymer-modified asphalt (PMA), which is designed for durability in the islands’ tropical climate using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer combined into a petroleum-based binder. The Hawaii Department of Transportation partnered with environmental chemist Jennifer Lynch’s team, including supplying abandoned nets removed through CMDR’s Bounty Project, which has removed 84 tons of gear. The study will also measure microplastics released compared with standard asphalt.