Plastic waste collected by rag pickers in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 11: Road laying work in twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar would soon witness use of plastic waste.

Molten plastic would be used as binder to enhance the binding capacity of bitumen, which is used for road construction.

Officials at the State Pollution Control Board said that road construction with plastic waste would start in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar municipal corporation areas after the election on a pilot basis.

Officials in the board said that waste plastic (polythene carry bags) softens at a temperature of 130°C. Scientific analysis shows that there is no gas emission while heating the plastic waste between 130°C and 180°C.

Softened plastic has binding property and can be added with bitumen to enhance its binding capacity.

The procedure begins with segregation of waste plastic. Thin carry bags and bottles are cleaned and cut into size of 1.18mm. Later the plastic is heated till 165°C and the molten material is mixed with hot bitumen.

Once implemented, molten plastic waste will in a big way lessen the amount of bitumen needed for road construction. Officials at the pollution board said that molten plastic waste would save Rs 30,000 for construction of road having a length of one kilometre.

“For construction of one kilometre road, use of one ton plastic (10lakh carry bags) would save an equal amount of bitumen,” said an official of the board.

Officials said that roads made with plastic waste had better longevity as the mixture of bitumen and molten plastic was resistant to water.

“Chances of stripping and creation of potholes is less with this mixture,” said an official. Roads in Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore in Karnataka were constructed using this technology and have shown satisfactory results.

Ever increasing plastic waste in the city has remained as a major concern for civic body and environmentalists. While more than 400 tonnes of solid waste are produced in the city everyday, plastic waste contribute 20 per cent of these.