India turns waste plastic into roads
Jan 24, 2010
AN Indian company has found a novel use for the heaps of ecologically unsound plastic that litter Bangalore: It is turning it into roads.
AN Indian company has found a novel use for the heaps of ecologically unsound plastic that litter Bangalore: It is turning it into roads.
K.K. Plastic Waste Management, run by brothers Ahmed and Rasool Khan, collects thousands of tonnes of waste plastic from garbage bins across India’s IT hub through a network of municipal workers, rag pickers and their own employees.
The plastic is then shredded and mixed with asphalt to form a compound called polymerised bitumen. When used in paving, the brothers say it withstands monsoons and daily wear and tear better than traditional methods, and also reduces potholes.
Scientists agree/b>
Prof C.E.G. Justo, a Bangalore-based highways and roads experts, said the process of mixing plastic waste in road construction enhanced the performance of the road.
“Waste plastic gets into some of the voids of the bituminous mix and makes it more resistant to deterioration under wet weather conditions,†Justo said.
Ahmed Khan, the managing director of the firm, says the idea struck about a decade ago when various organisations started anti-plastic campaigns.
“Everyday there is 10,000 tonnes of waste plastic and it would all go to landfills, how much of that can you do? There, it does not degenerate or bio-degrade and ultimately it will be a problem so this is the best solution,†Khan said.
The remaining garbage, separated from the non bio-degradable plastic, can be turned into compost, Khan added.
The Khans say they have helped lay about 1,400km of roads with their product and, with encouragement from state government agencies, they say they could rid the entire country of its plastic waste.
Unless its bio-degradable, plastic does not decompose and stays in the environment for years, causing grave damage to fish, marine birds and cattle that often choke to death after swallowing plastic bags.
There have been instances in India where hundreds of plastic bags have been found in the stomachs of dead cows.
A few years ago, when monsoon rains flooded Mumbai, plastic bags were blamed for clogging the underground drainage system and intensifying the effects of the floods.
India has the world’s second largest road network, but the World Bank says infrastructure limitations are its most serious constraint to growth, and the most serious limitation to rapid poverty reduction.
Reuters
K.K. Plastic Waste Management, run by brothers Ahmed and Rasool Khan, collects thousands of tonnes of waste plastic from garbage bins across India’s IT hub through a network of municipal workers, rag pickers and their own employees.
The plastic is then shredded and mixed with asphalt to form a compound called polymerised bitumen. When used in paving, the brothers say it withstands monsoons and daily wear and tear better than traditional methods, and also reduces potholes.
Scientists agree/b>
Prof C.E.G. Justo, a Bangalore-based highways and roads experts, said the process of mixing plastic waste in road construction enhanced the performance of the road.
“Waste plastic gets into some of the voids of the bituminous mix and makes it more resistant to deterioration under wet weather conditions,†Justo said.
Ahmed Khan, the managing director of the firm, says the idea struck about a decade ago when various organisations started anti-plastic campaigns.
“Everyday there is 10,000 tonnes of waste plastic and it would all go to landfills, how much of that can you do? There, it does not degenerate or bio-degrade and ultimately it will be a problem so this is the best solution,†Khan said.
The remaining garbage, separated from the non bio-degradable plastic, can be turned into compost, Khan added.
The Khans say they have helped lay about 1,400km of roads with their product and, with encouragement from state government agencies, they say they could rid the entire country of its plastic waste.
Unless its bio-degradable, plastic does not decompose and stays in the environment for years, causing grave damage to fish, marine birds and cattle that often choke to death after swallowing plastic bags.
There have been instances in India where hundreds of plastic bags have been found in the stomachs of dead cows.
A few years ago, when monsoon rains flooded Mumbai, plastic bags were blamed for clogging the underground drainage system and intensifying the effects of the floods.
India has the world’s second largest road network, but the World Bank says infrastructure limitations are its most serious constraint to growth, and the most serious limitation to rapid poverty reduction.
Reuters