Plastic to be included in PWD manual

In a bid to do away with the plastic waste

choking the cities, the Public Works Department (PWD) is all set to include

plastic in its next revised manual to be released in 2013.

 The move not only paves way for using plastic

in roads constructed by the PWD in the state, but also reduces the cost of construction.

 According to PWD Principal Secretary P

H Kurien, plastic will be incorporated as a raw material for tarring roads in the

next revised manual of the PWD.

 “The preparatory work in this regard

has already begun.

 The technology comes from NATPAC, and a

few test roads have also been laid.

 We are now looking at the

standardisation of the plastic material to be used and the size of the shredded

plastic.

 Once this is done, we will be able to

incorporate plastic in the PWD manual,” he said.

 As of now, the PWD roads in the state

cannot use plastic as it is not included in the PWD manual, thereby causing a

headache to the waste management agencies.

 The CREDAI Clean City, one of the

agencies that look into the segregation and shredding of plastic waste, has around

30 tonnes of the cleaned, shredded material accumulated in its plants here.

 CREDAI Clean City Movement executive

director Joseph Moonjely has said that, if the manual is revised, it will be a

huge step forward in the management of plastic.

 “In Tamil Nadu, the revision was done

in 2002.

 But here the situation is different,

and agencies like ours have tonnes of shredded plastic waste.

 It is because of this that we are now unable

to take up plastic waste disposal in cities like Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.

 The revision will be a huge step

forward in waste disposal,” he said.

 According to the estimates of NATPAC,

one kilometre of road will need one tonne of shredded plastic waste, which

needs as many as 10 lakh plastic covers.

 The covers could be sourced from 2,50,000

houses at the rate of four plastic covers per house.

 The use of plastic will reduce the use

of bitumen by 10 per cent, thereby bringing down the cost.

 Apart from roads, plastic can also be used

for the construction of medians and lamp posts.