Use of fibres from waste fishing nets in porous asphalt mixtures for road pavement

The disposal of fishing nets and their impact on the environment raise significant concerns since many of them are left in the sea or on beaches after use. These “ghost” nets are made of homogeneous polymers, and their reuse in civil construction has the potential to deliver both technical and environmental benefits, helping to reduce waste production and promoting sustainability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using waste fishing net as additive in porous asphalt. Different fishing nets were selected as additive: mechanical and functional performances of the mixtures were investigated, in comparison to those obtained with a commercial fibre as well as to those of a control mixture, with no additive. The results proved that the waste nets can be an alternative to commercial fibres in porous asphalt, thus reducing the need for production and consumption of virgin materials and promoting responsible resource use.