Page 15 - U4SSC Case study: City solid waste management, June 2020

Case Study 2 - India: Use of plastic waste in road construction

Author:

Vimal Wakhlu

Introduction

Background

The modern urban lifestyle dictates the generation of plastic waste, which needs to be disposed of or
recycled. With developing countries undertaking considerable road construction activities, some have
found a way to repurpose plastic waste for road construction.

As the world’s second most populous country, with a population of 1.3 billion, and a significant plastic
waste problem, India is a noteworthy case study. In India, almost 70 per cent of the population live
in villages. Even though rural inhabitants do not generate quite as much plastic waste as their urban
counterparts, this amount is still substantial given their sheer number. Meanwhile, across India, about
174 km of roads are built every day, whilst the amount of plastic waste generated exceeds 5.6 million
tonnes per year. Merging these two could potentially represent a solution for re-using plastic waste
in India.

Challenge and response

Over the last few decades, plastic materials have become an integral part of the modern lifestyle. Plastic
bags, packing material, bottles, cups, and various other items have slowly replaced their counterparts
that are made of other materials, largely thanks to the advantages of plastic. Plastic is durable, easy
to produce, light, odourless, and chemically resistant. However, plastic materials have an important
drawback: they decompose at an extremely slow pace which poses serious threat to the environment.

The challenge that most of the cities in India, and in other developing countries, are facing is the
enormous amount of plastic waste that is generated due to modern ways of living, and this is becoming
increasingly difficult to handle. Most people living in cities start their day generating waste such as
milk wrappers.

While improper plastic waste disposal poses a serious risk to the ecological system, it also impacts
human health directly. Hence, the opportunity of converting plastic waste into a resource for road
construction activity is very much needed in countries like India.

The solution involves using plastic waste in road construction via a special technology, which makes
the road stronger, less susceptible to the vagaries of nature and with less maintenance costs. At the
same time, we are getting rid of plastic waste generated inside the cities. Thus, it represents a smart
solution, which pertains to the Circular Cities deliverable of U4SSC.

Case study: City solid waste management, June 2020 9