As part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has shown the way towards the gainful use of plastic wastes and initiated a new project of utilizing it in road construction, the first such initiative taken up in Odisha.
As a pilot project, a stretch of 1 km road has been laid from Rourkela Club to Shaktinagar Chowk mixing shredded waste plastic in road tar. RSP sources said as plastics are non-biodegradable, its hazardous impact on the environment is irreparable, adding that a whopping 40 percent of plastic wastes inevitably get littered and choke the environment.
An estimate says that out of the total plastic waste generated in India, about 60% gets recycled, while the rest 40% litters and chokes the environment. Studies have revealed that waste plastic has great potential for use in road construction as its addition in small doses, about 5-10% by weight, to bitumen helps in substantially improving the Marshall stability, strength, durability, fatigue life, resistance to water-induced damages, resistance to deformation and other desirable properties of bituminous mix, leading to improved longevity and pavement performance.
Steel Plant initiated the process of using plastic wastes in road construction as per the Indian Road Congress Guidelines. During door-to-door domestic waste collection, the plastics are segregated at different intermediate garbage stations spread across the captive township of RSP. Then the plastic waste materials get transported to a store at Sector-15. The plastic waste material is shredded thereafter using the facilities of recycling locally and transporting it to Hot Mix Plant to mix it with the aggregates used for tar concrete.
When the aggregate is heated, the plastic gets coated uniformly over the aggregate within 30 to 60 seconds, giving an oily look. The plastic-waste-coated aggregate is mixed with hot tar and the resultant mix is used for road construction.
As a pilot project, a stretch of 1 km road has been laid from Rourkela Club to Shaktinagar Chowk mixing shredded waste plastic in road tar. RSP sources said as plastics are non-biodegradable, its hazardous impact on the environment is irreparable, adding that a whopping 40 percent of plastic wastes inevitably get littered and choke the environment.
An estimate says that out of the total plastic waste generated in India, about 60% gets recycled, while the rest 40% litters and chokes the environment. Studies have revealed that waste plastic has great potential for use in road construction as its addition in small doses, about 5-10% by weight, to bitumen helps in substantially improving the Marshall stability, strength, durability, fatigue life, resistance to water-induced damages, resistance to deformation and other desirable properties of bituminous mix, leading to improved longevity and pavement performance.
Steel Plant initiated the process of using plastic wastes in road construction as per the Indian Road Congress Guidelines. During door-to-door domestic waste collection, the plastics are segregated at different intermediate garbage stations spread across the captive township of RSP. Then the plastic waste materials get transported to a store at Sector-15. The plastic waste material is shredded thereafter using the facilities of recycling locally and transporting it to Hot Mix Plant to mix it with the aggregates used for tar concrete.
When the aggregate is heated, the plastic gets coated uniformly over the aggregate within 30 to 60 seconds, giving an oily look. The plastic-waste-coated aggregate is mixed with hot tar and the resultant mix is used for road construction.
