Pune: Better use of waste plastic is on the cards. Roads in the city will be constructed using a mixture of polymer glue and tar that is made from shredded plastic waste.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has planned to construct aroud 25 roads in different areas of the city using this technique.
The civic administration has planned to make use of plastic for the construction of roads. Funds will be allocated for the purpose.
The standing committee of the civic body will take a call on setting up a plant for making a
plastic mix for roads. A tie-up with two firms will be inked. These include a chemical and an environmental company. They will collect plastic that will then be converted into a mixture, which will be added to the tar.
Civic officials said that shredded plastic between 2.36 mm and 600 microns is used to construct the road. The shredded plastic is obtained by chemically treating the plastic waste generated from urban areas, which includes plastic bags and packing material. It is heated at high temperature and then converted into a powder form. It is then added into a hot mix of tar.
Pune generates around 1,700 tonnes of garbage per day. It includes 950 tonnes are segregated and 750 tonnes of mixed waste. Nearly 12% of the city's total garbage is plastic.
As per the PMC officials, the civic administration has planned this expansion after the pilot project was successful. The civic body carried out trials on six patches in 2016-17.
"The experiment of the using plastic mixed with tar for road construction has improved the life of roads. Experts have also praised the effort. So, a decision to make more use of this polymer glue has been taken," Rajendra Raut, head of PMC's road department, said.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has already cleared the use of this technology for road construction, from the point of view of pollution. Experts said the life span of the road increases with the use of plastic by around two years. It also helps in saving money as maintenance costs reduce. Overall, nearly Rs 30,000 per sq km can be saved using this technique.
The Pune Cantonment Board had built the first plastic road in the city. Phayre Road was re-layed at an expenditure of Rs 325 per sqm in 2011. They had used 430kg of shredded plastic for the 250m-long stretch.
