Pig manure could pave the road to a new sustainable asphalt, thanks to civil engineer Ellie Fini and a team at North Carolina A&T State University. Fini and her partners have filed patents on the technology and set up a company called Bio-Adhesive Alliance. Pig manure has oils that can be used to create a petroleum-like substance, which can be mixed with sand or gravel to make a strong asphalt substitute. Researchers are currently putting the resulting bio-asphalt through its paces, making sure that it will stand up to the daily stressors of life as a road. If the venture succeeds, it would reduce reliance on petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and would also solve the ever growing problem of where to put the billions of gallons of pig waste generated in the United States every year.