The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is working toward a more sustainable future, leveraging the principles of a circular economy. To support reducing waste, lowering emissions and promoting the use of recycled materials in infrastructure projects, TMR launched a new initiative in early 2025: the Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard (National Asset Centre of Excellence 2025).
The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is working toward a more sustainable future, leveraging the principles of a circular economy. To support reducing waste, lowering emissions and promoting the use of recycled materials in infrastructure projects, TMR launched a new initiative in early 2025: the Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard (National Asset Centre of Excellence 2025).
This publicly accessible, free-to-use digital platform is designed to support both industry stakeholders and TMR project delivery teams in identifying local opportunities for incorporating recycled materials into road construction and maintenance. By making it easier to source sustainable materials, the Dashboard is helping to transform how transport infrastructure is planned and delivered across Queensland.
TMR’s commitment to sustainability is demonstrated by its Waste2Resource Strategy (Queensland Government 2025), which outlines a vision for becoming a leader in circular economy practices within the transport sector. This strategy is built around four key objectives:
These goals align with the broader Queensland Government’s Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy, reinforcing a whole-of-government approach to sustainability (Queensland Government 2019). This Dashboard specifically targets the third objective, creating a space for industry to build market connections.
The Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard is the result of the multi-year collaboration between TMR and the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO), under the National Asset Centre of Excellence (NACOE) research agreement. This partnership is focused on delivering research that is not only cost-effective and implementable but also builds capacity and supports collaboration across the transport sector.
Since its inception in 2022, the project has involved consultation with stakeholders across Queensland. Workshops were conducted with local government representatives and other state departments to identify user needs and explore opportunities for future cross-governmental synergy. These engagements revealed an appetite for a tool that could simplify access to information about recycled material suppliers.
The first year of the project focused on research and stakeholder engagement. NTRO worked closely with TMR to understand the technical and practical requirements of the Dashboard. This phase included evaluating software options and gathering input from potential users to ensure the final product would be fit for purpose.
Feedback from industry stakeholders and project delivery teams was that a lack of visibility has been a barrier to the broader adoption of recycled materials in transport projects. Without easy access to reliable, up-to-date information, teams often default to conventional materials because they are more familiar and easier to source. The Dashboard directly addresses this challenge by centralising supplier information and making it accessible in a user-friendly format.
Additionally, the project team conducted a review of existing tools in the industry to inform the Dashboard’s development. Notable examples included Sustainability Victoria’s Buy Recycled Directory (Sustainability Victoria 2025) and ecologiQ’s Supplier Map for Victoria’s Big Build projects (State Government of Victoria 2023). These tools provided insights into best practices and user expectations, helping to shape a platform tailored to the Queensland context.
In the second year, the team developed an alpha version of the Dashboard, which was tested with industry stakeholders, including both suppliers and end users. Feedback from this phase helped refine the platform, leading to the beta version development and, ultimately, the final product.
The Dashboard is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, offering a range of features that make it easy to find and evaluate recycled material suppliers across Queensland. Key functionalities include:
As of July 2025, the Dashboard features 28 suppliers, with new entries added monthly. These suppliers are from eight TMR districts, with a few interstate businesses that provide products to Queensland. The suppliers include quarries, recyclers and manufacturers of bituminous products.
The range of recycled materials available through the Dashboard is diverse and continues to grow. Commonly listed materials include crumb rubber; crushed brick, concrete and glass; reclaimed asphalt pavement; reclaimed aggregates; fly ash; and recycled water. These materials are used in a variety of applications, including asphalt, bituminous binders and unbound granular material blends.
The Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard is a strategic tool that supports TMR’s broader sustainability goals. By supporting the use of recycled materials, the Dashboard seeks to help reduce the environmental footprint of transport infrastructure projects while also supporting local markets for recycled products.
Further, the platform encourages innovation by making it easier for project teams to find and adopt alternative materials. This will hopefully see a drive in demand for recycled products and supports future innovators.
As Queensland continues to invest in sustainable infrastructure, the Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard will play a role in ensuring that environmental considerations are embedded in every stage of project delivery, from planning and design to construction and maintenance.
Through the development and launch of the Recycled Materials Supplier Dashboard, there is an aim to see industry stakeholders supported to make more sustainable choices. This project shows the value of research-driven, practical tools.
By making it easier to find and use recycled materials, the Dashboard is helping to build reliable, cost-effective and sustainable network of suppliers, project teams and contractors.
