Cheshire East Council uses plastic bottles in repair and maintenance programme

Cheshire East Council is looking to utilise used plastic bottles to repair a footbridge in Macclesfield, having seen success with material in Crewe.

The scheme using glass-reinforced plastic to create a foam infill made from more than 4,500 plastic bottles, produced by specialist surfacing and structures manufacturer Polydeck.

The process and end product uses hundreds of thousands of single-use plastic bottles, which are transformed into an inner-core foam.

Councillor Brian Roberts, Cheshire East Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste, said: “The council is fully committed to using recycled materials wherever we can to provide a sustainable and cost-effective solution.”

“The work that has been carried out on the footbridge has completely transformed its appearance, as the old timber decking was in a poor state of repair and in need of restoration.”

Chris Spooner, Managing Director of Polydeck, said: “The council will be looking at other opportunities to apply recycled materials and the latest project to use this material will be the footbridge across the Silk Road, in Macclesfield, which is about to undergo extensive maintenance work.”

“This is a sustainable and enterprising application for recycled single-use plastic bottles. We are pleased to be part of the process for addressing one of the biggest problems facing the planet today.”