A German Consultant team recently visited Himachal Pradesh to learn the technology of mixing polyethene waste with gravel and road material to construct stronger roads.
Himachal public works department uses polyethene waste with road construction materials and this experiment has given good results so far. That’s what the PWD claims, recipe the story of the roads although says something else.
So far the state Public Works Department has laid down 150 kilometer long roads across the state using the polythene waste material. The waste material helps in easy and sustainable tarring of the roads.
One kilometer long road can accommodate as much as 400 kg of polyethene waste, story which is an effective Green Engineering measure to keep a check on the pollution caused by plastics. Although plastics are banned in the state yet the plastic inflicted pollution is on the rise in the state. Plastics of 60 micron or less are used in road construction.
The consultant team from Germany studied the tarring process at Bilaspur National Highway section. It has been reported and claimed by the state PWD that this tarring lasts for five years and is water repellant as well.
However, at the same the National Highway-21 from Bilaspur to Swarghat is arguably the worst road in the state. Wonder what Germans learnt from the PWD guys.
Hope they didn’t learn the wrong technique!