The State will soon use stone blocks made of plastic and PET bottles in construction of public toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The government has decided to procure the technology for making plastone, a unique stone block made with plastic coating, from professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan, known as the plastic man of India.
The 73-year-old Vasudevan, recipient of the Padma Shri, has been for the last two days holding consultations with officials over the possible use of plastic in building roads and converting it into fuel for the cement industry.
The block was invented in 2012 when the professor was looking for a technology to withstand pressure and water percolation. A single plastone block consumes about 300 plastic bags and six PET bottles. The technology could come in handy to help the State meet its targets of building over 10 lakh toilets this year under the SBM, launched in 2014 as a five-year scheme.
“We have decided to procure the technology and even tiles made of plastic from professor Vasudevan. We plan to use them in construction of toilets since they are non porous and prevent water penetration,” Anil Diggikar, principal secretary, environment, said.
Under the SBM scheme, the State is promoting construction and use of sanitary latrine at all households. The scheme aims to make toilets available in every house and in turn make the country open defecation free by October 2, 2019.
As per estimates, Maharashtra’s 27,902 gram panchayats have 1.15 crore houses, of which 63.67 lakh or 55% are without toilets. The government had constructed 12.79 individual toilets at ₹656 crore by the end of 2017. The cost of constructing a single unit could significantly come down with the use of plastone.
A single palstone of one square by one square foot has a manufacturing cost of ₹45, and is sold at ₹80. “We have ensured that the plastone is used for many purposes and remains cost effective for governments,” professor Vasudevan told The Hindu after concluding his visit to Mumbai.
Since 2002, Mr. Vasudevan has been using shredded plastic waste of 2 mm over hot bitumen. The thin film of this plastic is spread over stones and later added to molten tar. The roads constructed in such a way have lasted longer than those constructed by local bodies and governments. The State is hopeful of integrating professor Vasudevan’s innovative ways in its Road Development Plan 2001-2021. Under the plan, the government targets to develop 3.37 lakh km by 2021.
In March, the State had announced a ban on the sale, use and distribution of plastic products. The plastic industry has since been rallying for the dilution of the ban while pushing the government to go slow on any action on violations. The industry calls the ban arbitrary while environmentalists welcome it as a much-needed action against the menace of plastic waste. Earlier, the government set up a special task force to come up with a wider policy while allowing a coping window for the industry.