What can be a better way to recycle plastic than making a fine road out of it?
That’s right, folks. Lucknow has added itself to the list of cities in India that have successfully constructed roads using plastic waste. Pune, Chennai, Jamshedpur and Indore have already executed this project, making Lucknow the fifth city in India on the list.
It is found to be among the best ways to recycle the increasing plastic waste in the country.
The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has begun the construction of plastic roads in the capital of state under a pilot project.
The initiative includes a 10 kilometer road that will be constructed from Gomti Nagar Police Station to Indian Institute of Management (IIM) using plastic waste.
The Chief Engineer of LDA told ANI that mixing plastic increases a road’s durability by 40 to 50 percent making them durable for a longer time.
He also said that the process is not too complicated, neither does it require any machinery. It involves converting plastic into fine granules of definite size, heating it and then mixing it with bitumen to prepare the binding.
LDA required 178 kg of plastic waste out of which 120 kg was found by teaming up with Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) and the rest 58 kg from the residents under its jurisdiction.
Roads constructed using plastic waste as binding material are more durable and resistant to rain. It also reduces road fatigue and leaves no pot holes. Thus, the Government of India passed an order in November, 2015 that made it mandatory for all the road developers across the country to mix plastic waste with bitumen while constructing roads.
For a small area, a large amount of plastic waste is required which implies that a huge content of plastic has been recycled.
The technology of recycling plastic was developed by Prof. Rajagopalan Vasudevan, also known as the ‘Plastic Man’ at Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai. In 2002 he himself took up a challenge of finding a way to recycle plastic. A laboratory experiment proved to be successful and he finally made a road using plastic waste in his college premises.
One of the best ways to solve the increasing problem of plastic has now been adapted to 5 cities with a motive to make the country environment-friendly.
(With inputs from ANI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)