Ludhiana MC starts preparing estimate for making road with plastic waste

Facing flak over delay in moving forward with the proposal to build roads with plastic waste, the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) has finally begun preparing an estimate for constructing such a road using the mixture of plastic and asphalt (bitumen). It will be the first such project in the industrial hub of the state.

Congress councillor (ward number 94) Gurpreet Gopi had initially tabled the proposal in this regard in the general House meeting last year and had been slamming the civic body over the delay for more than nine months.

The MC’s estimate will be tabled in the next finance and contracts committee (F&CC) meeting. The first road from plastic waste will be built in New Partap Colony, which falls under Gopi’s ward, on a trial basis. MC officials said as per the norms, only 8% plastic can be used in construction of roads and the rest is bitumen.

Councillor Gopi said, “I had taken up the issue of delay in commencing the project in the last three House meetings. Finally, the MC has started the exercise to prepare an estimate. I urge the authorities to introduce this concept across the city.”

“Around 300MT of plastic waste is generated in the city daily. If even 8% plastic is used in road construction, a large amount of waste can be put to good use. It will also help in reducing the quantity of garbage as the MC is already struggling to deal with its management in the city,” he added.

MC’s superintending engineer Tirath Bansal said the department is working to prepare an estimate of the project cost. The report will be tabled in the next F&CC meeting for approval before floating the tenders, he added.

Khanna, Fatehgarh Sahib have similar roads

Such roads have already been built in Ikolaha village of Khanna and Fatehgarh Sahib. Gopi said those roads have been proven to have good strength. He said the Punjab Mandi Board had also issued directions to its officials to use a specified amount of plastic in construction of roads in 2019.

MC to hire contractor for the purpose: Officials

MC officials said the plastic waste cannot be directly used in construction of roads as it is full of dirt. The MC will have to buy machinery or hire a contractor for cleaning the waste plastic generated in the city and shred it into small pieces, which can then be mixed with the asphalt, they said.

For the first project, which is seen as a trial, the civic body will have to arrange the shredded plastic from some other source.