New Delhi: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to construct 100km of road in a month by using plastic waste.
According to the ministry of road transport and highways, plastic waste has already been used in wearing courses of road construction on a pilot basis in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The technology is in compliance with the guidelines of Indian Roads Congress for the use of waste plastic in Hot Bituminous Mixes in wearing courses. It further said that construction of 1km of 4-lane highway can help in disposal of approximately 7 tonnes of waste plastic.
The ministry encourages the use of waste plastic in highway construction, especially on NH within 50 km periphery of urban areas that have a population of 5 lakh or above. A stretch of road has recently been constructed using waste plastic on NH-48 near Dhaula Kuan. Portions of Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Gurugram-Sohna road have also been planned for construction using plastic waste.
The ministry has embarked upon a mission for utilising waste plastic in a big way. It has mobilised nearly 26,000 people for spreading awareness on plastic waste management. Over 61,000 hours of ‘shramdaan’ have been given to collect plastic waste.