Made of plastic, its fantastic

Made of plastic, its fantastic
The KH Road has been asphalted using plastic waste along with bitumen.


In October 2007 it was hell to move on KH Road. The road was full of potholes filled with rain water. Despite repeated complaints from the public, the Palike could not do anything as it was rainy season. But now the road has a different look altogether. The road has been asphalted using plastic waste along with bitumen.

Chief Engineer (Major Roads) K S Krishna Reddy said plastic waste is used as modifier in bitumen to increase durability of the road. “After researches into strengthening roads three types of bitumen is used for asphaltation. They are polymer (plastic) modified bitumen and latex modified bitumen. Plastic waste collected from rag pickers is mixed with bitumen. Modifiers increase bonding and as a result the road gets longer life time”, he said.

KK Plastic Waste Management Pvt Ltd initiated the use of plastic in roads. K Ahmed Khan, Managing Director of the company said for the first time plastic was used in TV Tower road in JC Nagar in 2002 December. From then on plastic has been widely used in many roads including MG Road, Indiranagar Main road and KMRP Roads.
BBMP Chief Engineer (Projects) M Gopalaswamy said roads which were laid or strengthened using plastic wastes have not come for major repair till the day. “It has been six years since we laid the first road with plastic waste. So far there are no complaints. Normally roads laid with plastic have a life time of seven years. Whereas in the conventional method the life of a road is only five years”, he said.

Gopalaswamy said the Palike has been using plastic waste extensively in all road works, including 47 roads taken up for upgradation this year. “Use of plastic waste does not increase the total cost of the work. Only eight percent of the total bitumen is covered by plastic waste. It does not incur additional burden on the Palike. Instead strength of the road increases”, he said. He added use of plastic waste for roads has only advantages, no disadvantages at all.

Ahmed Khan said his company buys plastic waste from rag pickers paying between Rs 6 to Rs 13 per kg depending on the quality of plastic collected. “We take all types of plastic. Plastic collected is crushed to reduce it to powder. The powder is mixed with bitumen”, he said.

Listing the benefits of using plastic in roads, Ahmed Khan said it tackles garbage menace, increases durability of roads as plastic acts as water proof and rag pickers get money. Khan said “For asphaltation of a road of 1 km length we need nearly 2 tonnes of plastic waste. We segregate the plastic collected considering on the type of plastic - bucket plastic, bag plastic, bottle plastic. Each type of the plastic is powdered separately and later it will be mixed up. The final product will be mixed with bitumen in hot mix plant.”

WHAT THEY SAY...?

BBMP has been using plastic waste in roads extensively. Plastic acts as a modifier to strengthen the road. After thorough research plastic usage has been found useful and economical. It also helps in tackling garbage in the city.
- K S Krishna Reddy
Chief Engineer, Major roads

We started using plastic for roads in Bangalore in late 1990s. Now it has spread to Hubli. In Hubli also we are in association with the Hubli Mahanagara Palike using plastic waste for 20-km long road. If the government takes it seriously the technology can be used extensively in all road works.

- K Ahmed Khan
MD, KK Plastic Waste
Management Pvt Ltd

HIGHLIGHTS

* 1 km long road requires 2 tonnes of plastic waste
* Plastic purchased from rag pickers
* Helps to tackle garbage menace
* Improves durability of roads
* Widely used in major roads