The Centre for Solid Waste Management of Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) here has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia to replace all its existing roads with ‘plastic roads’ between 2017 and 2025.
The MoU, signed by R. Vasudevan, Dean, TCE, on behalf of its chairman Karumuttu T. Kannan, with Safri Burhanudin, Deputy Coordinating Minister for Human Resource, Science and Technology and Maritime Culture, in Bali on June 15 envisages cooperation in the form of education and training in the field of engineering, including the use of Thiagarajar College of Engineering’s patented technology of laying flexible pavement with the use of waste plastic.
The technology involves coating of aggregate with waste plastic before being mixed with bitumen for laying roads.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Dr. Vasudevan was confident that with extended application of waste plastic in laying pavements and erecting walls, the demand for it would go up.
‘Poor man’s friend’
Hailing plastic as “poor man’s friend,” Dr. Vasudevan described it as the “greatest discovery” of the 20th century that improved the standard of living of common man.
The problem was only with its disposal, he added. Besides improving the life of the road and bringing down cost of construction, the TCE technology of 2002 also ensures gainful disposal of waste plastic.
One tonne of waste plastic, equivalent to 10 lakh carry bags, is required for laying one km of single lane road.
This means a saving of one tonne of bitumen.
K. Arunachalam, Principal (in charge), said that the technology was already adopted in Bhutan to lay roads in the mountain kingdom and countries like USA, Kuwait, Kenya and Malaysia had also shown a keen interest.
