Kolkata: The South 24-Parganas district for the first time is constructing a road at Canning II block using plastic waste collected during the Gangasagar Mela in January.
Some 4.85 km road at Palta – Taltala area under Canning II block will be constructed using plastic waste. The work began on Saturday. A panchayat functionary said that Tambuldaha II gram panchayat area will have such roads. The cost will be to the tune of Rs 80 lakh.
A Panchayats and Rural Development official said that roads constructed with plastic waste are more durable and resilient to extreme temperatures, waterlogging and damage due to heavy traffic.
The plastic-modified bitumen prevents cracks, enhancing overall quality of roads. “The cost of bitumen can be reduced by using plastic waste as an additive, potentially making the process cheaper in areas with abundant plastic waste,” he added. Plenty of bottles and other plastic materials were collected by the district administration during the Gangasagar Mela.
These were shredded and mixed with bitumen.
The engineers were trained on how to do the mixing. “I am really excited that plastic road construction in South 24-Parganas began from my constituency. Similar construction will be taken up elsewhere in the district,” said Shaukat Molla, MLA from Canning East.
Birbhum, East Burdwan, Murshidabad, Howrah, Purulia and Jalpaiguri saw such road constructions. The Plastic Waste Management Rule 2016 issued by the Centre says that local bodies shall encourage the use of plastic waste (preferably the plastic waste which cannot be further recycled) for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guideline.