What do we do with all this plastic waste? BBMP now to use plastic to build roads
- Close to 1 lakh kg plastic waste has been recovered from the city.
- BBMP offiicials have decided to use the waste for the construction of roads.
- This will not only solve the plastic disposal problems in the city, but will also strengthen the roads.
FollowBengalureans may finally enjoy good roads as BBMP may have found a permanent solution for both plastic garbage disposal and the woes of bad roads. In a decision taken at a meeting on Saturday, which was chaired by CM Siddaramaiah, the state government has decided that the plastic waste collected from the city will be used for constructing roads. An official order is likely to be issued in this regard on Monday.
Speaking to the New Indian Express, BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad said, "So far, we have recovered 1 lakh kg of plastic and collected a penalty of `1.67 crore from those who sell plastic illegally. But we have no powers to file cases against them.”
The success of the plan is tried and tested. Six years ago, BBMP officials had used plastic waste during the construction of roads inside Bangalore University’s Jnana Bharathi campus. "The roads are still in good condition," one of the officials had testified. According to a report by the Deccan Herald, BBMP had stopped using plastic in road construction after the Ministry of Forest and Environment stipulated the use of a higher viscosity grade Bitumen.
According to an article by Bangalore Mirror, BBMP has been using VG-10 and VG-30 types of Bitumen for construction of roads. Experts believe that adding plastic to the mixture will increase the longevity of the roads manifold. An engineer with BBMP reportedly said, "While it costs Rs 32,000 per tonne of bitumen, by adding about 8 percent of plastic, the cost could go up by Rs 2,100 per tonne. But this will give strength to the road, besides facilitating free movement of vehicles."
