TonerPlas®

Close the Loop on soft plastics and toner powder with TonerPlas®

In Australia alone, it is estimated that almost 500,000 tonnes of soft plastic is put into the market every year, and global recycling rates for print consumables such as ink and toner cartridges are still minor in comparison to units sold. Not only is this bad for the environment, it is a monumental waste of valuable resources that can have a new life.

Complex plastics (or polymers) such as post-consumer soft plastic packaging and toner powder from print consumables are difficult to recycle through traditional methods, which has led to the majority of these materials going to landfill.

Close the Loop divert these products from landfill through stewardship programs, circular contracts, and bespoke take-back systems, before sorting, refurbishing or reusing these materials in-house to manufacture new high-performance products.

TonerPlas® is Close the Loop’s innovative asphalt additive. Formulated over the past 10 years to facilitate a much-needed application for waste toner and soft plastics, this ground-breaking product is a key ingredient to making high-performance asphalt roads that last longer and require less maintenance than traditional asphalt. It is designed to melt into, extend and modify the bituminous binder mastic in asphalt, and can be added to existing asphalt manufacturing processes easily.

TonerPlas® improves the mechanical properties of asphalt,
leading to:

Close the Loop manufacturers TonerPlas® as a part of their Zero Waste to Landfill brand promise- none of the conforming items that Close the Loop accept through any of their collection programs (including cartridge recycling , cosmetics recycling, and soft plastics recycling) are sent to landfill.

“Growing successful collection programs is only beneficial if there is a next step. Collection is not recycling. Completed sales of products made from ‘waste’ is the only evidence of a successful recycling program.”

Steve Morriss
Head of Circularity at Close the Loop

Still have questions? Check out our FAQs page here.

TESTIMONIALS

Close the Loop are proud to partner with leading global print brands, infrastructure companies, and Australian councils, businesses and retailers in order to formulate our TonerPlas® solution. We want to engage further with civil contractors, governments, and asphalt companies to increase our positive impact for Australia’s waste crisis.

Downer have been a key partner of Close the Loop for over a decade, utilizing TonerPlas® in their Reconophalt asphalt alongside recycled glass and utilizing this in a number of road projects across Australia. Downer is proud to take a lead role in repurposing soft plastics and glass in asphalt for road construction to create a sustainable, cost effective solution that has improved performance characteristics over conventional asphalt.

Hume is home to many innovative companies involved in advanced materials repurposing. This sector already makes a significant economic contribution to the municipality and they are committed to supporting and growing the sector. There is no better exemplar of the circular economy in action than Close the Loop, which was founded more than 20 years ago in the Hume area. Hume were the first council in Australia to resurface roads using asphalt additives, and have been active in this space since 2012.

Using products like TonerPlas® is an opportunity for local governments to signal their commitment to the circular economy.

George Osborne, City of Hume

The Mayor of Ballarat, Cr Ben Taylor is readily in support of the use of recycled content in roads. He says the prices are competitive with traditional asphalt and it is reported to have enhanced properties. Cr Taylor said the City of Ballarat was continuing to advocate for the state government to support a recycling materials sorting facility in Ballarat to create higher value recycling product and incentivise business innovation in re-manufacturing.

Adelaide Hills Council used TonerPlas® in a road project undertaken by AAA Asphalt. Adelaide Hills Council has set a 30% target for the use of recycled content in all new roads and TonerPlas® provides a long term solution for meeting their goal.

Increasing the amount of recycled content in our asphalt doesn’t have a negative effect on the performance of the asphalt, in fact incorporating the plastics into it increases the durability and rut resistance of the road.

Steve Smith

Technical Officer – Adelaide Hills Council