Amid waste generated from discarded plastic items is hazardous to the environment and health, but can also be utilised in constructing roads. Bokaro Steel Plant has come up with another idea to get rid of plastic wastes and polythene bags; utilising poly bags and harmful plastic wastes in the maintenance of roads inside the plant.
Integrating plastic with bitumen and stone chips the Civil Engineering Department (CED) of BSl prepared a combination for maintenance of roads which would prevent the persistent problem of potholes on the roads and to increase the resistance to water at a lower construction cost, BSl officials said.
“It’s a new way of making good use of discarded plastic and preventing further damage to the environment”, added the officials. This is comparatively cheaper than the usual road making cost and since it is on a trial basis we are planning to carry it out on roads that are not used extensively, said Akhilesh Prasad GM Services BSl.
“By using plastic we are recycling it and preventing further damage to the environment”, added Prasad. According to the expert it’s a best use of the waste plastic. “The plastic coated concrete when exposed to rains does not get damage and last long. Such roads can survive for more than six years without any damage caused by rains”, added the expert.
Plastic-cum-tar roads are much better than unmodified roads and almost 100 per cent resistant to soaking up water. The maintenance cost of the road is very low, while its durability is high. Notably, recently BSl has taken up the construction of superior quality of roads using microsurfacing technique that uses coal tar, stone dust and cement in its township areas.