NHAI to use plastic waste to build Jammu-Srinagar highway

Sumit Hakhoo

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 30

In a first of its kind experiment in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will use plastic and polythene dumped in godowns of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) for laying road on the 270-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which is undergoing four-laning.

About 400 metric tonnes (MT) of polythene seized by the SPCB and other agencies after the State High Court banned the use and manufacture of polythene in 2008 has not been disposed of and the agencies have chalked out a plan to utilise it. Environmentally fragile J&K is facing a daunting task of disposing of tonnes of polythene material generated by consumers every year.

Officials said under the pilot project,five metric tonnes of polythene would be tested on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway using the existing technology available in India and if successful, will be replicated on the strategic highway, which connects Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.

There is also a plan to lay roads using waste material in the two capital cities and towns of the state. “If our experiment succeeds, we will find an alternative way of disposing plastic waste. Many states in India have adopted this technique. Roads laid with asphalt mixed with plastic are resistant to water, cold weather and general wear and tear”, said Purshotam Kumar, Project Director, NHAI-Ramban, overlooking the four-laning of the Udhampur-Ramban Highway.

As per the technical details polythene and plastic is first shredded and then mixed with bitumen at very high temperature. Later, it forms one of the layer when macadamisation is carried out of a particular road.

“We are hopeful that the project will succeed. It is becoming difficult to dispose of polythene and plastic waste generated. Other methods cause pollution. We are also in talks with cement plants so that plastic can be used as fuel but for that plants need some modification”, said Suresh Chug, Chairman, JKSPCB.

For years, the state has failed to find scientific solution to get rid of the haul and seized polythene, especially carry bags. Since 2015, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also encouraging road developers to use plastic waste along with bituminous mixes to overcome the growing problem of disposal of plastic waste, which is threatening the environment.

Best out of waste 

• As per the technical details, polythene and plastic is first shredded and then mixed with bitumen at high temperature. Later, it forms one of the layers when macadamisation is carried out of a particular road.
• “We are hopeful that the project will succeed. It is becoming difficult to dispose of polythene and plastic waste. Other methods cause pollution. We are also in talks with cement plants so that plastic can be used as fuel, but for that plants need some modification,” said Suresh Chug, Chairman, JKSPCB.
• For years, the state has failed to find scientific solution to get rid of the haul and seized polythene. Since 2015, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also encouraging road developers to use plastic waste along with bituminous mixes to overcome the growing problem of disposal of plastic waste, which is threatening the environment.