New Plymouth normally exports approximately 200 tonnes of plastics to China and Thailand for recycling each year. The Council was open to trying new ideas for reusing plastics closer to home.²⁸³ In response, in 2019 around 500 kilograms of types 3 to 7 plastics were used in the 90 metres of resurfacing of Liardet Street in New Plymouth. It was New Zealand’s first road to be partly made from recycled plastic. Downer’s Road Science division developed Plas Mix, the asphalt-plastic blend and has been granted a 10-year maintenance contract by the Council to trial the new product elsewhere.²⁸⁴