Shredded plastic for road tarring

Thiruvananthapuram: With plastic menace becoming a huge headache for the local bodies across the state, the government has  decided to use plastic waste for road construction.

Initially, the Department of Urban Affairs will try this method  in all municipal corporations in  the state. Clean Kerala Company Ltd – an initiative of the state government – has come up with projects to construct roads using shredded plastic.

“Using plastic for road construction has proved to be  effective and roads are  durable. The project will take off officially on December 20 at Thrikkakkara municipality. Initially, the project will be executed in corporations and later it will be rolled out in block panchayats,” said Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali.

More shredder units will be installed in local bodies to shred plastic waste. “The Clean Kerala Company will collect shredded plastic from local bodies at a price and use it for tarring roads,” added Ali.

The PWD  has already decided to tar 50 km of road using plastic in the next financial year. “Plastic will be collected with the help of Kudumbasree Mission. Currently, around 50 tonnes of shredded plastic from Ravipuram shredder unit will be supplied for PWD to execute the project,” said Kabeer B. Haroon, executive officer of Clean Kerala Company Ltd.

NATPAC, the agency engaged by the government, has already completed a  study on the environment impact of using plastic waste for tarring. The study  reveals that Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000 can be saved by replacing 10 percent of bitumen with plastic.

“Our study has proved that usage of plastic increases the durability of roads and reduces consumption of fuel because smooth surface reduced the vehicle operating cost,” said a top official of NATPC.