3 million face masks could be used to build 1 km road, Australian study finds

In 2021, Australian engineers mixed shredded single-use face masks with processed building rubble for road bases; the material met engineering standards, and 1 km of two-lane road could use about 3 million masks/Image: RMIT University About 3 million single-use face masks could be used to build the base of a one-kilometre, two-lane road, according to research by engineers at Australia's RMIT University that explored a way to turn discarded masks and construction waste into road-building material.The researchers shredded single-use face masks and combined them with processed building rubble, known as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Tests showed that the resulting material met relevant civil engineering specifications for use in road base and sub-base layers.The study, titled “Repurposing of COVID-19 single-use face masks for pavements base/subbase,” published in Science of the Total Environment, found that using the material for one kilometre of a two-lane road could consume about 3 million masks while keeping 93 tonnes of waste out of landfill.The research was carried out in 2021, when the widespread use of disposable masks during the Covid-19 pandemic had created another stream...