The Panchayat and Rural Development Department in India is working towards making 80 plastic waste management centers fully functional in the near future. These centers will facilitate the preparation of a plastic-bitumen blend, which will be utilized for constructing and repairing roads across various districts in both southern and northern Bengal.

Bitumen, a key material for road construction and maintenance, delivers enhanced performance when combined with plastic. According to a senior official, roads built with this plastic-bitumen mix have shown promising results. As part of an initial initiative, approximately 1.8 kilometers of roads in the Polba-Dadpur block of Hooghly district have been developed using this method, demonstrating superior efficiency compared to traditional bitumen-only roads. Encouraged by these outcomes, the department is actively working to increase the use of plastic in road construction, repair, and upkeep.

The department has set an ambitious target to complete around 1,000 kilometers of such roads by the end of the current fiscal year. Districts in southern Bengal, including Hooghly, Howrah, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, and West Midnapore, have been selected for the project. In northern Bengal, areas such as Malda, New Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, and Dakshin Dinajpur are also part of the initiative, though hilly regions have been excluded.

To prepare the plastic-bitumen mixture for these road projects, waste plastic is being sorted and shredded. To streamline this process, plastic management units have been established in various districts. The waste plastic being processed comes from materials collected and segregated by municipal corporations and local municipalities.

An official stated that these efforts are already underway, with around 80 plastic management units operational at different stages. Currently, 14 units are providing shredded plastic for use in the plastic-bitumen blend. The department aims to expand this to include plastic from all 80 units within the next two months.

Most of these plastic waste management facilities are located in rural regions. “Our focus is on maintaining and upgrading roads using waste plastic. Initially, 10% of the total road length planned will incorporate this method, with a goal to complete this phase by March 2025,” the official added.

BY WPB