The Dutch city of Giethoorn is building the second plastic bike path of the country. The first one was constructed in neighbouring Zwolle in September. The cycle path in Giethoorn is 30 metres long and is situated along the N334 provincial road. The PlasticRoad is a modular, circular and climate-proof road based on recycled plastic. The concept is by KWS, Wavin and Total.
With the clicking together of two building elements, Overijssel’s representative Bert Boerman and alderman Marcel Scheringa of the Steenwijkerland municipality, together with the team of PlasticRoad, have carried out the first construction operation. In just a few hours the PlasticRoad elements were laid this morning. In the coming days, the PlasticRoad team will work on finishing the cycle path, such as the verge and the connection to the existing tile pavement. After the weekend the bike path will reopen. As in Zwolle, this pilot also contains as much recycled plastic as 218,000 plastic cups or 500,000 plastic bottle caps.
Overijssel now has two PlasticRoad cycle paths, one in Zwolle and one in Giethoorn. “The province stimulates entrepreneurs with innovative and sustainable ideas and thus contributes to a circular economy”, says Bert Boerman. “By making a cycle path available in our province, the new PlasticRoad concept can be tested in practice for technical and economic feasibility. This will bring innovation a little further.”
The biggest difference with Zwolle is the subsidence-sensitive subsoil in and around Giethoorn. The soil is compressed by pressure and load and can, therefore, cause problems in, for example, the construction of infrastructure. “In Giethoorn we can test the advantages of the low weight of the PlasticRoad elements in relation to these settlements”, says Marcel Jager of Wavin.
The pilots in Zwolle and Giethoorn will be monitored for the next five years in order to ultimately get the product ready for the market. Last night, the PlasticRoad received the Cobouw Award for the best product of 2018.
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