Eraviperoor panchayat in the Tiruvalla taluk is showing the green way. The panchayat has implemented a project which makes use of plastic for laying a road in the panchayat.
Panchayat president N Rajeev said the project was implemented as part of the waste management programme implemented in the panchayat with the help of Clean Kerala Mission. “The panchayat opened a plastic shredding unit six months ago for managing plastic waste. The unit named Haritha plastic has been collecting plastic covers and bottles from houses for shredding. The unit has also placed special bins at anganvadis and schools for collecting plastic. The shredded plastic from this unit was mixed along with bitumen for road laying. The volume of bitumen can be reduced by using waste plastic for tarring. PWD and Clean Kerala Mission gave technical advice for us,” he said.
“Shredded plastic and bitumen is mixed at 165 degree centigrade temperature in a tar mixing unit. This mixture is laid out on the road before it cools. A 100 meter road to the Vallamkulam market was tarred using this technique,” said Prasad K S, Local Self Government Department(LSGD) engineer. It helps in reducing the use of bitumen up to eight per cent, he added. “A total of 54 kilogram plastic was used for the road tarring in Vallamkulam,” Prasad said.
Clean Kerala Mission officials said that the a similar project was implemented earlier at the state level during construction of the road between Palachuvadu and Nilampathinjimugal in the Cochin Corporation. “The project of the Eraviperoor panchayat is the first such project to be undertaken in a panchayat in the state. The mixing of bitumen with plastic can overcome frequent damage of village roads by heavy rain and hence provide a solution for water-logging in the state roads. The same project can also help reduce pollution caused by plastic. At present 15 local bodies in the state are operating their own shredding units. Most of the units give the shredded plastic to other states for recycling,” officials said.