Chandigarh, June 30: Punjab will soon join the league of states that are laying plastic-blended roads in rural areas. After successful trials on the use of multi-layered plastic (MLP) waste by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on a village link road at Okolaha (Khanna), the Punjab Mandi Board and the PWD will now be using the technique to lay 500 km of link roads.
PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla said the results of the trial were shared with the stakeholders in a recent meeting held as part of Mission Tandarust Punjab. “With saving environment and healthy Punjab the centre of focus of the mission, getting rid of plastic waste is of prime concern. We are eager to use the technique,” he said.
The results of the case study are being forwarded to Highway Research Board, IRC, for an approval and directions for the use of MLP along with other material in the construction and repair of roads and the construction of pavements.
Due to unscientific disposal, around 4,000 tonne of MLP generated annually in the state lies scattered here and there. The shiny plastic material which is used to package chips, biscuit and ready-to-eat food products cannot be recycled.
As it is has no alternative uses, rag pickers also do not pick it. It thus poses a constant threat to the ecosystem. A study on rag pickers by the PPCB revealed that 28 different types of plastic were not picked up due to low returns.
KS Pannu, Chairman, PPCB, said successful results had been achieved in the resilient modules value of the plastic-blended road got tested from Civil Engineering Department of Thapar University, Patiala. The test enables us to check the behaviour of a road material under a variety of conditions like moisture, density, gradation and load. Pannu pointed out that while the use single-layer plastic in road construction was already in practice in other states, the use of the MLP was yet another achievement in the management of plastic waste.
Source Tribune India
