Making concrete green: reinventing the world's most used synthetic material

Concrete has a crushing environmental impact but Australian-led innovations have the potential to dramatically reduce emissions from its production

They look like any other footpath snaking across Queensland's James Cook University (JCU) campus. Yet the two concrete paths leading up to the university's new Science Place building and the Douglas campus buildings may hold the key to one of the construction industry's most pressing environmental questions.

In December last year, JCU PhD student Shi Yin won the manufacturing, construction and innovation category award at the 2015 Australian Innovation Challenge for his research into using recycled plastic for reinforced concrete applications.