The Times of India 05.11.2013
Task force to use plastic waste for building roads
BHUBANESWAR: The housing and urban development (H&UD) department has formed a task force to implement the use of plastic waste for road construction.
The task force comprises officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and the works department. The job of the task force will be to ensure that plastic wastes generated from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack do not litter the roads, but are instead used for road construction work.
While the OSPCB will provide technical guidance to the civic bodies on how to collect and segregate the wastes, the works department will facilitate the use of the bulk of segregated wastes for construction of roads.
"We have sent letters to BMC and CMC to collect and segregate the plastic after collection of municipal solid wastes. According to the plan, once segregated, the wastes will be lifted by the PWD, which will send the bulk of the waste to a recycling centre," said senior environmental scientist Dilip Kumar Behera.
He said few cities in India have already started using recycled plastic for constructing roads. The plastic-mixed concrete can be durable, especially during the rainy season, he added.
An OSPCB study revealed plastic waste in the city would constitute nine percent of the total municipal solid wastes in 2013-14, an increase of six percent. It was three percent in 2008. In comparison, disposal and collection have been less.
Pollution board sources said only 60 percent of plastic waste is disposed and recycled. As per rough estimates, about 5.7 kg plastic waste per head per annum is generated.
Chief engineer (National Highway division) Bijan Behera said assimilating plastic with stone chips, along with bitumen, can help improve the road condition.
