A Gap Analysis in Selected Asian Countries, 3R Knowledge Hub ...

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3R Gap Analysis and Findings
URBAN MUNICIPAL WASTE
In India, Municipal Solid Waste Management
(MSWM) is a part of public health and
sanitation, and is the responsibility of the local
administration. In recent years, MSWM has
been assuming larger importance due to
population explosion, legal interventions,
emergence of newer technologies and rising
public awareness towards cleanliness (Kumar et
al., 2004).
Except in metropolitan cities, MSWM is the
responsibility of a health officer who is assisted
Plastic-tar roads in India
by the engineering department for transportation
related work. The activity is mostly labor
intensive, and 2-3 workers are provided per 1000
residents served. The municipal agencies spend
5-25% of their budget on SWM, which is Rs. 75-
250 (USD 1.8–6) per capita per year (Kumar and
Gaikwad, 2004). Normally a city with a
population of 1 million spends around Rs. 100
million for this activity. In spite of this huge
expenditure, services are not provided to the
desired level (Kumar, 2005).
Domestic wastes falling into categories such as polyethylene, polypropylene and
polystyrene or plastic carry-bags, disposable cups and PET bottles that are collected from
garbage dumps are now important ingredients of construction materials.
When mixed with hot bitumen, plastics melt to form a coat over the aggregate and the
mixture is laid on the surface like a normal tar road. Use of shredded plastic waste acts as
a strong binding agent for tar making the asphalt last long. By mixing plastic with
bitumen the ability of the bitumen to withstand high temperature increases. Plastics can
be mixed with heated tar and later mixed with the gravel. Polyethylene can be used up to
5% and polystyrene 20%.
Plastic waste is melted and mixed with bitumen in a particular ratio. Normally, blending
takes place when temperature reaches 45.5 0 C but when plastic is mixed, it remains stable
even at 55 0 C. Durability of the roads laid with shredded plastic waste is more compared to
those asphalted with the ordinary mix. The binding property of plastic makes the road last
longer besides giving added strength to withstand more loads.
While a normal highway-quality road lasts four to five years it is claimed that plasticbitumen
roads can last up to 10 years. The bitumen mix-plastic flakes roads resist against
water seepage due to the presence of plastic and resulting to lesser road repairs. Each
kilometer of road with an average width requires over two tons of poly-blend-substituting
the same with waste plastic will help to reduce the plastic waste.
The cost of plastic road construction may be slightly higher compared to the conventional
method. However, this should not deter the adoption of the technology as the benefits are
much higher than the cost.
Salem town shows the way to handle plastic waste
Salem, an industrial town in Tamil Nadu, is the first to lay a plastic-tar road in the country.
The technology becomes one of the solutions for plastic waste management in India. This
project is a combined effort of the Salem Municipal Corporation, Corporators, the Exnora
Club, an NGO and the plastic manufacturers. There are more than 12 roads laid using
plastic waste in Tamil Nadu alone. Other than Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra
have also utilized the technology for using waste plastic in shredded form in road
construction.
Source: The Tribune and ICPE