In Sydney, the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) brought councils together to create a local market for recycled materials in road construction. The initiative followed the 2019 signing of a “Procure Recycled” memorandum of understanding, as governments sought new uses for recyclable materials amid changing export rules. Paving the Way was its first project. 2
The initial focus was recycled crushed glass (RCG). SSROC worked with council civil engineers, Transport for NSW and AUS-SPEC to address technical concerns and align road-making specifications, then coordinated a joint procurement so participating councils could aggregate demand. The glass is used as a substitute for natural sand in asphalt and other civil works, including non-structural concrete and pipe bedding. 311
The programme aimed to use about one-third of participating councils’ household glass collections—roughly 93 million bottles a year—while reducing reliance on quarried sand and associated transport emissions. A 2020 SSROC media release described the procurement as involving 16 metropolitan councils and said it was expected to create demand for more than 20,000 tonnes of glass annually. 23 SSROC’s 2019–20 annual report said the materials contract was due to commence on 1 July 2021. 5
By the end of 2023, SSROC reported that the programme had diverted 22 million glass containers from landfill, saved 1,908 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions, and reclaimed and reused 32,472 tonnes of replaced asphalt pavement. 9 The wider programme later added a tyre-recycling strand: in 2023, 12 Sydney councils resurfaced road sections with asphalt containing rubber recovered from end-of-life tyres, with performance and durability monitored. 412