Few people who drive along a stretch of the Old Princes Highway in Engadine will realise they are on what could be the road to the future. Or that the road is - quite literally - rubbish.

The 250-metre long section, due to be laid on Friday morning, is the first in NSW to be made out of plastic bags and glass in a trial of a cutting edge technology that could help tackle Australia’s waste crisis.

Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce at the stretch of the Old Princes Highway where a recycled road will be laid on Friday. Credit:Jane Dyson/Sutherland Council

Sutherland Shire in southern Sydney is the first council in NSW to trial a plastic road following a similar Australia-first pilot in Hume City Council, in Melbourne’s outer north-west, in May this year.

The section of the highway, between Cooper Street and Engadine Avenue, will look identical to a traditional asphalt road.