While R. Vasudevan, who led the team at Thiagarajar College of Engineering that developed the technology to use plastic in laying of roads, has now been honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award, there are no takers for the technology in the district, the woman self-help group involved in producing shredded plastic said.
The Swadeshi Women Self-Help Group (SHG), with ₹3.75 lakh support from the government, set up a unit near Iyer Bungalow here to produce shredded plastic from garbage which can be used for laying plastic roads as per the technology invented by Dr. Vasudevan and his team. However, the SHG, reportedly the only such team involved in the work in the district, is complaining that selling the shredded plastic to the government was a struggle owing to disinterest among the authorities.
G. Bothi Lakshmi, secretary of the team, said that both the District Rural Development Agency and Madurai Corporation bought the material from them for laying roads only a handful of times in the past six years. “Every time, we have to submit a petition to the Collector or the Corporation Commissioner and follow up repeatedly. Then, they will buy a minimal quantity,” she said and added that the last time the district administration bought plastic from them was in February 2017.
According to the team, the SHG buys plastic waste for ₹ 7 to ₹10 a kg and sells shredded plastic for ₹30 a kg. “There is considerable wastage in the segregation and shredding process,” Ms. Bothi Lakshmi said. For laying one kilometre of road, around one tonne of shredded plastic, which is to be mixed with bitumen, is required.
M. Valarmathi, one of the team members, said that despite much focus on solid waste management, they faced trouble in obtaining plastic waste collected as garbage by local bodies, including Madurai Corporation, for the recycling process. “The segregation work is not an easy process since many dump sanitary napkins and other waste with plastic bags. Despite our hard work, we are struggling to make money from our recycling unit,” she said and added that with the support of Dr. Vasudevan they sold shredded plastic to Maharashtra and Kerala on a few occasions.
Dr. Vasudevan said that while a number of States had adopted the technology, its use across Tamil Nadu had reduced recently.
Pointing out the poor condition of roads in Madurai district, he said: “More than the Padma Shri award, I will be happy if the technology is widely used since it makes the roads more durable, apart from efficiently recycling the plastic,” he said.
Acknowledging the problem, a senior official from the district administration said that efforts would be immediately made to use the technology in all road-laying projects.
