Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai)

BMC not keen on burying plastic waste under road

- Steffy Thevar

All kinds of plastic bags

(with and without handle), garbage bags

All one-time use disposable items made up of plastic and thermocol, such as cutlery, plates and bowls.

ITEMS EXEMPTED

Plastic sheets to wrap or store products and plastic pouches to

store liquid Non-woven polypropyl­ene bags (a cross between paper and

cloth bag) Disposable

plastic containers used for takeaway

PET bottles (containing soft drinks, mineral water etc) and with a carrying capacity

of less than 500 ml

THE PENALTY

MUMBAI: Despite the state government’s notificati­on making it mandatory for its public works department (PWD) and civic bodies to use plastic waste for tar roads, the Brihanmumb­ai Municipal Corporatio­n (BMC) said it will first undertake a study to check how effective the method is. Experts say that plastic roads can rid the city of potholes and regular wear and tear, especially during the rains.

The BMC will start penalising citizens for use, transport and manufactur­ing of plastic from

Prof Rajagopala­n Vasudevan, Thiagaraja­r College of Engineerin­g, conducted this experiment in his lab in 2001 One km of single lane requires But to build plastic road for the same stretch 9 tonnes of bitumen and one tonne of plastic are required Monday.

VP Chithore, chief engineer (roads) BMC, said: “I have no idea about any such circular form the state about using plastic for roads. The BMC is not planning anything as such as of now. We will have to study it before we decide anything.”

In 2014, BMC’S G/north ward had used plastic to build a road. Sharad Ughade, the then ward officer, said, “The experiment was a success and the road is still intact.”

A BMC official, who was formerly with the BMC’S road department, said, “The Central circular came to the civic body in One tonne plastic equals 2016, but till date nothing concrete has taken place. The percentage of bitumen in the total road material is 7%. Plastic can replace 3% to 4 % of bitumen. The small percentage of plastic in road constructi­on does not make any difference as storing plastic is costly.”

Bitumen is a bonding agent which binds the tar with crushed stones/gravel and is then used for laying the road. The official further added, “We have not yet formed any policy. For making the mix of bitumen, stones and plastic, we need to do modificati­ons in the plant (private or BMC owned).” concrete blocks Such roads can help authoritie­s save about ͌2,500 per tonne

8% plastic in road material mix could solve environmen­tal concerns

 ?? ILLUSTRATI­ON: SHRIKRISHN­A ??
ILLUSTRATI­ON: SHRIKRISHN­A
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India