Pune builds road out of plastic waste

Smart city Pune is building a road out of plastic waste using the bitumen technology on waste plastic, ranging from polybags to biscuit packets.

The 150-metre stretch of Bhagwat lane at Nevi Peth near Vaikunth Crematorium has been selected as a pilot project for which the work has already commenced. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is using over 220 tonnes of aggregate (rock), 11 tonnes of bitumen and one tonne of 2.36 mm shredded waste plastic, used according to the Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines.

The plastic has been provided by Rudra Environmental Solutions (India) Ltd (RESIL) and collected by Keshav Sita Memorial Foundation Trust. It was processed at the RESIL plant in Jejuri city.

“We have used a blend of 45 kg of bitumen and 55 tonnes of aggregate along with shredded plastic that corresponds to four per cent for every tonne of the blend. Around one tonne of shredded plastic is being used for the construction of this road. We will construct 11 more roads on trial basis,” said Suresh Jagtap, head of PMC’s solid waste management department.

Around 1,700 tonnes of garbage is generated in the city daily, of which around 950 tonnes are segregated. The remaining 750 tonnes are mixed waste.

Jagtap claims that around 12 per cent of the city’s total garbage generated is plastic. “Plastic waste is shredded and then heated up to 160 degrees Celsius after which it is used to pave the roads.

Plastic is later cleaned and segregated into several grades, grated into fine powder and then taken to the construction site. The powdered plastic is then mixed with bitumen in a hot mixer, which is laid on the road.