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by NextPerception 3994 days ago
Plastic is not a sustainable nor cost-effective material to build roads out of. I am a mechanical designer who designs with plastics daily. All plastic polymer chains break down over time and there is no getting around it. Light, thermal-variations, water-absorption, and mechanical stress can cause microscopic polymer chains to break and this weakens the plastic. If you have ever seen plastic that has become brittle with old age or sunlight you have seen a perfect example of polymer-chain damage in plastics. The rate of polymer chain breakage can be slowed down through various plastic formulations but it can't be stopped, especially in an outdoor environment where it is contending with wild temperature variations, water, oil, sunlight, and cars driving on it.

So yes, lets make a road out of plastic, even though plastic is at it's absolute worst under the stresses roads undergo. I will join the "when will the road break" betting pool at 8 years and 2 months after the road is laid.