Future roads point to plastic

Future roads point to plastic: After school kids, workers chip in
New Indian Express


BANGALORE: Bangalore city will soon become a plastic free zone. With K.K. Plastic Waste Management Pvt. Ltd and Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) joining hands to clean up the plastic menace, this dream may soon come true.

Both BCC and the company have taken the initiative to train pourakarmikas -- push cart workers. The company will also pay them Rs. 6 for every one kg of plastic deposited.

Ahmed Khan, managing director, K.K. Plastic said: ‘‘We started off by educating school students and encouraging them to collect plastic. Now we have called for pourakarmikas to do the same as most plastic comes from the residential wastes. This will also prove profitable to them.’’

Speaking about the utilisation of plastic, Reasool Khan, said: ‘‘Numerous civic problems have arisen due to the waste plastic. Animals are in danger too. Hence, the first attempt is to clear this mess and the second is to utilise it to construct roads. The positive aspect is, it ensures durability of roads.’’

The product that is used for the roads is K.K. Poly blend. It is a polymer blend that is made of littered plastic bags, PET bottles and thin films made of plastic. These are used for making a compound that is used for modifying bitumen, which helps in the construction of roads. This product is one of the best binding agents and hence ensures durability.

A few roads in the city like Old Madras Road, Millers Road, Rajarajeshwarinagar Main Road, TV Tower Road and Eden Gardens Road have been laid with plastic. BCC has given additional projects to the company and Jayanagar, Shivajinagar Road and Mahalakshmi Layout are next on the itinerary.

Khan says in the next four to five years, Bangalore will be a plastic-free zone. He has also urged residents to cooperate and dispose plastic products in separate bags.’’