School students collect plastic bags as part of an awareness campaign. Plastic waste might soon be used in the construction of roads

Ranchi, Dec. 27: The proposal to use plastic in road construction has got an encouraging response.

In a bid to line up the advantages of the project, a seminar was held here on December 4.

At the seminar, the idea garnered interest from the state government, the army and a some public sector units, who have favoured usage of plastic in road construction.

Experts said the usage of plastic in road construction increases its strength by 2.5 per cent. It also reduces the construction cost by around 12 per cent. Moreover, the menace of plastic waste is put to constructive use.

Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK), a Ranchi-based NGO, which initiated the concept in the state, is satisfied with the response.

NBJK is at present working on a number of solid waste management projects in Jharkhand. Plastic is added to bitumen in a ratio of 1: 10 for construction of roads.

The seminar was attended by officials from the state road construction department, the army and some public sector undertakings like Central Coalfield Limited (CCL).

Talking to The Telegraph, secretary of the department of road constructions Debashis Gupta said he appreciated the idea. But he first wants to see construction of one such road on an experimental basis.

After being convinced, the state government can consider the proposal.

?According to the official norms, we need to see a road constructed on an experimental basis. I have decided to provide a stretch of road to the NGO that has taken the initiative for plastic road construction. We will provide them a stretch of road and the material required for the construction,? said Gupta.

The army authorities have gone a step ahead and have the forwarded the details to the Military Engineering Service (MES) headquarters in Jabalpur. And the response, said an army official, has been very positive.

The official, requesting anonymity, said the concept once adopted might find its use in army roads throughout the country.

The NGO representatives claim that the idea is being seriously considered by public sector companies like the CCL and Mecon.

Arvind Kumar a representative of NBJK, said, ?These companies are at present evaluating the pros and cons of ?plastic? roads. The feedback has been quite good till now. A company is considering the inclusion of plastic in its ?schedule of rates? for construction of roads.?

?The road will be of use in Jharkhand as construction work here has been done on a very uneven topography due to which water accumulates at some places. A road therefore develops ?crocodile cracks? over a period of time,? Arvind added.

The technology was invented after a research work in Madurai. ?The project to find a use of plastic waste for road construction was initially taken up by Tyagraja University, Madurai. The research work was taken up under professor V. Vasudevan,? said Arvind.

Some ?plastic? roads have already been constructed in Tamil Nadu.

?The technology has been used in road construction in Tamil Nadu, where chief minister Jayalithaa took a special interest in the project. Initially, 600 kms of road were constructed with plastic. There is a proposal to construct another 1000 kms stretch of road using the technology for roads in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,? Arvind added.