Jaipur Military Station: 2nd military station to have plastic waste road
Rajasthan
6 min read
Jaipur Military Station has become the second military station in the country to have a road made of plastic waste. The plastic road was inaugurated on 26 June 2024 by Major - General R S Godara, General Officer Commanding of 61 Sub Area.
The first military station to have a road built up of plastic waste was the Narangi Military station, Guwahati, Assam in 2019.
The Jaipur military station road is 100 meters long, from Sagat Singh Road under bridge to Cubs Corner complex.
In line with the Indian Army’s policy to create sustainable and Green Military Stations, the road in Jaipur was constructed under the aegis of GE (South), CE Jaipur Zone, with the assistance of Deep constructions Pvt Ltd.
As compared to the conventional roads the roads made of plastic wastes are more durable,suffers less wear and tear,reduced water induction and increased sustainability.
Use of Plastic Waste in Road Construction
In 2015, the government of India allowed the use of plastic waste in the construction of National Highways on a pilot basis. This was done to deal with the mounting plastic waste problems in the country. Plastics are non-biodegradable materials and have a very long life. The discarded plastics are thrown away, which creates a waste problem. The plastic waste is either burnt or just thrown away. The burning of plastics leads to the creation of air pollutants, and the discarded plastic wastes pollute water, land, seas and rivers.
Plastics waste found in the agricultural fields are found to block seed germination and prevent rainwater absorption. Many animals especially cows chokes and dies due to eating plastic bags thown in garbages.
Pioneer of Plastic Road
Professor Rajagopalan Vasudevan of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai and his team at the Centre for Studies on Solid Waste Management (CSSWM) has developed and patented a technique to use plastic waste in making roads. The plastic waste is mixed with heated bitumen and the resultant mixture is coated over stone used for making roads.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) conducted an audit of the road built with plastic waste and found that roads did not develop any potholes, rutting, ravelling or other even after four years of its construction.
After the success of the plastic waste built roads the government has allowed the use of mixing plastic waste with hot bitumen for construction of roads.
Professor Vasudevan is also famous as the Plastic Man of India, and the government of India honoured him with India’s fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2018.
Government Policy on Roads Made of Plastic Waste
In 2017 the government of India allowed mixing of 10 percent plastic waste with hot bitumen for the construction of roads.
In 2023 the government of India made it mandatory to use plastic waste in the construction and repair of service roads of national highways within a radius of 50 kilometers in urban-rural areas with five lakh population.
Plastic waste roads are being built in cities like Chennai, Delhi, Jamshedpur, Pune, Indore, Lucknow, etc.
This technique consumes 15 per cent less coal tar and makes the highway durable for 10 years instead of five years for the conventional roads.. As the plastic is water-resistant, no potholes develop on the road. Potholes develop on the conventional roads as the rainwater seeps inside the road causing damage to the road.
