Not so "Waste roads"

" 20-500 years" , this is the time period required for plastics to decompose which varies depending on the various structure and materials it is made up of.

From toothbrush to our cell phones to the food packaging industry everything runs on plastics, so I would not hesitate in saying that our life revolves around plastics.

India generates 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which 40 per cent remains uncollected and 43 per cent is used for packaging, most of which is single-use, as per a report from a reputed newspaper.

As we all know about the 3R principles we have been studying since our school days, 

Burning would cause air pollution.

composting wouldn't really work as it will take 100s of years to decompose.

In which other way we can use plastics to our advantage ?

One of the innovative steps India have taken over the past years is to involve plastic waste in the construction of roads thus I call it as not so waste roads, as it uses plastic waste as a constituent  but it is actually a huge innovative step for the greater cause

Since 2016 India has been making such kind of roads in about 11 states thus far.

More about "Waste roads"

• Waste roads consists of  92-94 % bitumen and 6-8% plastic waste.

• For every km of the road construction, it requires 9 tonnes of bitumen and 1 ton of plastic waste ( 1 million plastic bags)

• This means for every km 1 ton bitumen is saved which results in saving of Rs. 30,000.

• As of 2020 India made up 1 lakh kms of roads since it's first introduction in 2016.

Advantages :

• Mitigating plastic waste in a more efficient manner on a large scale.
• have better wearing resistance than asphalt roads.
• They do not absorb water.
• Have better flexibility which results in less rutting and less repair.
• Cost effective.
• Higher quality, longer lifespan.

Disadvantages:

• Toxic present in the co-mingled plastic wastes would start leaching.
• But the presence of chlorine will definitely release HCL gas

With the huge boom in population coming in the next few decade I think this technique to mitigate plastics would work wonders for the SWM practices across the nation.