Rome's Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment as it uses a waste plastic.

The graphene-enhanced tarmac has been laid on one of the airport's busiest runways, used by heavy class aircraft such as Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s.

The asphalt contains an additive called Gipave, containing graphene, which is derived from graphite, and a particular plastic that would not normally be recycled but rather sent to waste-to-energy plants.