Plastic waste and infrastructure durability are two urgent challenges facing communities worldwide. In Canada, only about nine percent of plastic waste is recycled, with hard‑to‑process materials like agricultural plastics often destined for landfill. At the same time, roads in cold climates endure relentless stress from extreme temperature swings, leading to cracking, potholes, and costly, frequent repairs.
Dow Canada is tackling both challenges with an innovative paving solution that turns agricultural plastic waste into a performance advantage. Using advanced materials science, this technology chemically bonds difficult‑to‑recycle plastics with asphalt binders, creating stronger, more resilient pavement engineered for Alberta’s extreme climate conditions.
First deployed in 2024 at Dow’s Fort Saskatchewan site, the solution diverted approximately 13,000 kilograms of agricultural plastic waste—equivalent to about 2.4 million grocery bags—from landfill and repurposed it into 12,000 square metres of roadway. The result is durable infrastructure that withstands harsh winters while demonstrating a scalable, practical pathway to circularity.
By transforming waste into long‑lasting roads, this project delivers measurable environmental benefits, improved infrastructure performance, and a powerful model for how circular solutions can strengthen communities across Alberta and beyond.
