KOCHI: Plastic waste chokes our drains, finds its way into our forests, waterways, and the ocean. It is a source of landfill waste and is a threat to the marine and wild life. Synthetic plastic does not biodegrade. It just accumulates and endangers the environment.
At a time when the world debates ways to tackle the menace, Vasudevan Rajagopalan, a retired chemistry professor from Madurai, presents an innovative way of disposing of plastic waste – introducing a technology to use it to build roads. Known as the 'Plastic man of India', he was named one of the 73 recipients of Padmasri this year for his innovation that was patented in 2006 and applauded by nations like Japan and China. Vasudevan, who arrived in Kochi to attend the National Conference on Marine Debris organised by CMFRI, shared his thoughts with Express.
"India produces 15,342 tonnes of plastic per day and the annual production is 56 lakh tonnes. Around 40 per cent of this plastic ends up as litter and poses a threat to the environment. But if we use this waste to build roads we can get rid of the menace and have roads with long durability. We need one tonne of plastic to lay one km of road. We have around 1.45 lakh km of national highways and we don't generate that amount of plastic to blacktop all these roads. So, we should see it as a resource that offers a world of opportunities," he said.
Vasudevan first used the technology to pave a road on the campus of Thiagarajar Engineering College in Madurai, where he worked as a professor. He sprayed shredded plastic waste over gravel heated to 170 degrees Celsius. The plastic melted and coated the stones with a thin film. The plastic-coated stones were then mixed with molten tar. Since both plastic and tar are petroleum products, they bind well. The technology yielded rich benefits like safe disposal of plastic waste and building roads with long durability.
"Kerala has always supported my endeavour.
I have laid a road on Rajagiri campus in Ernakulam, Kothamangalam and Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala PWD Minister G Sudhakaran appreciated the technology and said he will encourage it. We have already laid 1 lakh km of road across the country using the technology. However, the contractors may not be happy because of the long durability of the road. Only 15 per cent of our rural roads are blacktopped and if we use the technology, we can provide pothole-free roads with long durability to connect our villages," he said.
Regarding his other technological innovations, Vasudevan said he has developed plastone, a synthetic granite, that is five times stronger than concrete and can bear 300 tonnes of weight. It can be used as bricks for house construction and blocks to prevent beach erosion. "We have developed corrosion-resistant rods and roofing material from plastic. Another innovation is development of semiconductors for solar panels from Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). I have started works to patent the technology, he said.