The future of asphalt is plastic — and ecopals is paving the way

While there’s plenty of R&D into green and low-carbon concrete, a German startup has developed a novel way to turn waste into asphalt.  

ecopals is a cleantech company rethinking road construction by replacing virgin polymers in asphalt with recycled plastic waste. 

According to co-CEO and co-Manager Partner Fabian Zitzmann, the idea for ecopals began as a student project in Nepal.

Travel through Nepal or Southeast Asia and you’ll get you up and close and personal with a mountain of plastic waste. 

 Zitzmann explained: 

“And you also see people burning it, just as a normal way of disposal. That creates another problem.

There's a massive infrastructure gap. I

f you’re travelling 100 kilometres and it takes eight hours, you know infrastructure is key.”

So the team thought, 'What can be done with all the plastic trash lying around?' 

“That led us to the idea of plastic roads. 

In India, for example, it’s more common, they mix plastic waste with stones to create roads. It’s often done manually. 

But when we looked deeper, we realised something interesting: we already use polymers in road construction in Europe. In fact, around 30 per cent of asphalt in Europe is polymer-modified."

Germany’s recycling paradox

Shockingly in Germany, about 60 per cent of plastic waste is still incinerated instead of recycled. 

Waste management companies even pay for the incineration, which is referred to as “thermal recovery.” 

But according to Zitzmann, really, it’s just another term for burning.

“And then we’re importing freshly manufactured polymers, mostly from Asia or the US, which are extremely CO₂-intensive to produce. It didn’t make sense."

However, it’s not as simple as throwing plastic into asphalt, especially in Germany. ecospals partnered with an institute in the city of Itzehoe, which helped it develop and test its technology.

The science behind EcoFlakes

A road is basically crushed stone and a black binder called bitumen, which is derived from crude oil. However bitumen and polymers don’t naturally mix well—think oil and water. 

So ecopals needed to find a kind of "soap" or compatibiliser to make them bond and perform well. These polymers are used for a reason: to improve resilience and longevity. 

Over time, it developed what it now calls EcoFlakes, small, recycled polymer pellets specifically engineered for use in asphalt. They're clean, safe, and optimised for mixing and enhancing the durability of roads while significantly reducing CO₂ emissions and plastic pollution.

Cracking the local asphalt industry

The startup now also has backing from a strategic investor, MHI (Mittelständische Hoch- und Tiefbauindustrie), which provides support in navigating the fragmented German asphalt market. 

Unlike France, where a few major players own the plants and construction companies, Germany has over a hundred smaller companies. It’s highly decentralised, which makes sales and adoption more complex.

Zitzmann attributes the company’s local success to “a lot of explaining, testing, and convincing, and demonstrating that ecopals recycled materials meet industry performance and safety standards.”

The company conducted extensive tests — not just for durability, but also for emissions, aerosols, and any other factors that could pose a risk. 

In Germany, for example, ecopals needed to meet a requirement called “elastic recovery.” 

A core sample from the road is taken, extracting the bitumen, and measuring how much it stretches. 

According to Zitzmann, it's designed to ensure that actual polymers are used, not just regular bitumen. Some markets require this, others don’t. So, adoption varies depending on the regulation.

“We weren’t engineers when we started, so we had to learn everything from scratch. That kept us motivated.”

According to Zitzmann, many green startups only make sense at scale, which can be tough early on. But ecopals materials are already cheaper than virgin polymers, which gives the startup a head start.

Zitzmann further attributes the company’s success here to persistence:

“A lot of outreach, a lot of pilot projects, and a lot of trust-building.

You can't just show up with a new product and expect people to adopt it, especially in construction. You need to be there, on site, wearing the high-vis vest, answering every question.

Also, you’re dealing with people’s reputations. If something goes wrong, they’ll blame the new material. So we put a huge amount of effort into testing and project management during the early phases.”

The future of green asphalt

Zitzmann believes that environmental pressures will definitely push the industry to change, even in conservative sectors like road construction. 

While he asserts there will be multiple solutions, such as bio-binders, recyclables, and hybrids, the baseline requirement will be performance. 

“A sustainable road still has to last.”

According to Zitzman, the road industry needs to create more room for testing and innovation. 

“Right now, you need to find someone to pilot the material, someone else to mix it, and another to build the road. It’s complex. And if the outcome is uncertain, everyone hesitates. But innovation depends on these early steps.”

Now that ecopals has established itself in Germany, it's exploring other markets. 

But it faces the challenge of cross-border differences in construction culture. 

“You can’t just walk in and pitch; relationships are key. It’s about partnering.”

 Further, Zitzmann admits that it's fascinating to see how motivations differ globally, some businesses care about cost, others about CO₂ savings. "Luckily, our product addresses both."

Zitzmann would like to see more openness in the industry. He contends that many regulations are built on legacy practices. 

“Some countries don’t even have a framework for introducing new materials. Others are surprisingly open.

There’s also a paradox—if we don’t mention what kind of polymer we use, no one asks.

But if we say “recycled,” people panic. That mindset needs to shift.

Germany is slowly getting there, but it’s still a long journey. I hope we can help move the needle.”

Lead image: Jonas Varga and Fabian Zitzmann, Managing Partners, ecopals. Photo: uncredited.