EWA BEACH, Honolulu (KHON2) -- Some Ewa Beach residents have been driving on a road that is partially made of recycled plastic for over two years. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Researchers have been studying whether the road has been leaching microplastics into the environment and the results are promising. Residents along Fort Weaver Road near Puuloa Beach park said their street did not used to be so smooth. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. There were cracks and stuff like that," said Bobby Garcia. Garcia's tone has changed since the new road was paved in October, 2022. Recycled plastic, asphalt road holding up in Ewa Beach "So far, so good. It's it looks good. You know, as far as when I'm driving on it, it's pretty much perfect," he said. Up to 40 percent of the asphalt/plastic mixture for Phase One was made up of recycled material. Researchers at the University of Hawaii tested the structural integrity of the street for cracks and other deformities while Hawaii Pacific University studied whether the plastic actually stayed in the road. "Phase One was kind of, as it's called, phase one," said Cara Megill, HPU Center for Marine Debris Research microplastic program director, "to see if we can really do this in Hawaii. And the answer is yes. There's no increased leaching that we're seeing." Phase One of the project used a mix of asphalt and recycled plastic from the Mainland, Phase Two is underway just up the road and is souring recycled material from Hawaii. Driving on plastic? Recycled asphalt coming to Hawaii "Phase Two has sections that are paved with local Hawaiian post-consumer waste that's collected from our blue bins that we have at our houses and then also sections are paved with derelict fishing gear that we at the center have collected in and around the Hawaiian waters," Megill said "Great! I mean, that's why we got blue bins, for plastics and cardboard. Yeah. You know, as long as it helps out," Garcia said. Despite a big focus on going green, the CMDR said the vast majority of Hawaii's recycled plastic is not reused in the islands. "All of our recyclables are shipped off island," Megill said. "and so at the center, one of our goals is to kind of create a plastic recycling research facility to start up the beginning of recycling here in Hawaii." Check out more news from around Hawaii Testing for Phase Two of the project where locally-sourced recycled material was used will begin in January, 2025. Experts hope to have results for those sections by the end of 2025.