[SJM1214]

The ‘Plastic Man of India’ has found a way to reuse plastic waste and to make durable roads.

Rajagopalan Vasudevan is known as the “Plastic Man of India” for devising an innovative way of disposing of plastic waste – by using it to build roads.

In 2002, Vasudevan came up with the idea of spraying dry, shredded plastic waste, made up of pieces as small as 2 mm in size, over gravel or bitumen heated to 170 degrees Celsius. The plastic melted and coated the stones with a thin film. The plastic-coated stones were then added to molten tar. Since both plastic and tar are petroleum products, they bind well. Vasudevan first tried out this technique to pave a road on the college campus. It yielded twin benefits: it reused plastic waste and built durable roads.

Vasudevan’s innovation was patented in 2006 and it generated interest among civic bodies in the country and in Japan and China as well. The professor, however, chose to share the technology with the Indian government for free. It has since been used to build over 100,000 km of roads in at least 11 states, including Tamil Nadu.

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Recent news:
BMC paves Bandra road using discarded plastic.

The BMC says it has been successful with a trial for using plastic shreds in road resurfacing work on a small stretch in Bandra (West). Civic officials are discussing with experts if they can use the methodology for the resurfacing of all asphalt roads.

Civic officials say that the use of plastic in laying roads has several advantages. The main one is that in case of excessive load, a stretch can become uneven, but the chances of developing pothole will be minimal. Every monsoon, the BMC spends around Rs 1,500 crore on road repairs owing to the appearance of craters. It has forever been on the lookout for a durable, if not permanent, solution.

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[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

The ‘Plastic Man of India’ has found a way to reuse plastic waste and to make durable roads.

Rajagopalan Vasudevan is known as the “Plastic Man of India” for devising an innovative way of disposing of plastic waste – by using it to build roads.

News Source.

I hope the engineers in Bangalore adopt this technology soon. Most of the roads in Bangalore are in a pitiable condition. Plus garbage disposal is also a major problem here.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

I hope the engineers in Bangalore adopt this technology soon. Most of the roads in Bangalore are in a pitiable condition. Plus garbage disposal is also a major problem here.

BBMP have tried it in fits and starts since 2012!

http://www.theweekendleader.com/Inno...ic-smiles.html

[srishiva]

Its not going to help our roads. Without proper drainage and right temperature bitumen, good foundation etc, nothing is going to help our roads.
The amount of money wasted on potholes is huge and roads need to be done right first time around.

[agambhandari]

I can confirm that this is being done throughout the country for the plastic waste, at least the ones originating from any well planned hospital. All the plastic waste is segregated into red bags/ containers is microwaved or autoclaved to sterilize it(I'm talking about plastic waste that has been possibly contaminated) , crushed and sent out so as to be used in making roads. It improves waterproofing of the roads as far as i have been told.

[sgiitk]

I know a friend has developed a technique for converting Polythene waste int wax. I never know that wax is added to the asphalt/concrete esp. in cold climates. It is being manufactured by his son. You can check up on greenmantra in Canada. They have approvals from Canada, US and most of Europe.