A Step towards eco-friendly Roads

by NCU Northcap University NCU - Northcap University

The rapid growth rate of population has resulted in an overall count of around 1.34 billion people in India which represents almost 17.85% of the world’s total population. This huge crowd is creating serious impact on environmental assets and resources of the nation. Such growth not only demand resources for sustenance but also needs good infrastructure for mobility, which adds huge amount of non-biodegradable solid wastes in the ecosystem. According to GOI report of “National Highways Development Project”, road network in India is growing at an annual rate of 4% since 1951 while the vehicles are increasing at a much faster rate of around 12% per annum. This higher rate of increment of vehicles on the roads as compared to the rate of construction of roads, has resulted in the formation of transverse and longitudinal cracks, potholes etc in flexible pavement. Problem worsens due to inefficient maintenance of the pavement. Improvement in bituminous mix design can be one of the possible solutions to this problem. A lot of binders are available such as SBS (Styrene Butadiene Styrene), APP (Atactic Polypropylene) etc but the benefits of these synthetic additives could only be utilised by keeping financial aspects in mind.

A recent survey of 60 cities in India by Central Pollution Control Board estimated that about 33.7 million pounds of plastic waste is being generated out every day, of which about 13.2 million pounds remain uncollected and are choking our environment. Similarly, another reason of hazardous solid waste accumulation is discarded rubber tyres, which are piling up at a high rate of 20% per annum. Studies show that around 62% of the waste tyres is disposed off via unknown routes both in cities and villages. Discarded rubber tyres and their disposal have become a major concern worldwide, studies show that more than 10 billion tyres are being discarded every year.

Being non-biodegradable products, plastic and rubber stay for a long time on site and cause environmental pollution. Conventional techniques such as land filling and incineration which are used to dispose plastic waste and rubber tyres create leachate on degradation, which have negative effect on land, water and air. Application of polymers in modified bitumen enhances the performance of asphalt pavements manifolds.

This technique of utilizing solid waste improves the engineering properties of bituminous mixes and also helps in the development of eco-friendly pavements for future generation.

Author: Shubham Bansal

Assistant Professor

M.E. (Transportation Engineering), PEC University of Technology Chandigarh
BE (Civil Engineering), Thapar University, Patiala

Source: https://www.tfod.in/art-design-articles/4562/plastic-roads-by-dr-r-vasudevan-the-%e2%80%98plastic-man-of-india%e2%80%99