en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Mordialloc Level Crossing Removal Project has become the first major infrastructure project within the Victorian Big Build to use 100% recycled paint, supplied by the national paint recycling organization Paintback. The paint has been applied to concrete components such as abutments, piers, headstocks, and retaining walls on the new railway bridges in Mordialloc and Aspendale.

This recycled paint repurposes water-based waste paint that would otherwise end up in landfills, reducing construction waste and the carbon footprint of large-scale infrastructure projects. Since its establishment in 2016, Paintback has diverted over 65 million kilograms of waste paint and packaging from landfills and waterways through recycling and reprocessing. The recycled paint program is expected to be adopted by other Victorian infrastructure projects, with the Boronia Station upgrade already confirmed to use the product.

The Level Crossing Removal Project has also collaborated with Paintback on other waste reduction measures, such as recovering residual paint and containers from the Pakenham Level Crossing Removal Project. Solvent-based paint collected through this program has been used as an alternative fuel in cement production, replacing coal in cement kilns.

Natalie Yan, Acting Sustainability Manager at VIDA Rail, stated that this practice demonstrates the application of circular economy principles in delivering large-scale infrastructure. Yan noted that this is a simple case of moving towards a more circular future by reusing and repurposing materials. The infrastructure where the recycled paint was applied is part of the Mordialloc and Aspendale Level Crossing Removal Project delivery, which opened to passengers in May.