Kochi to get a road made from plastic waste soon

KOCHI: In a major effort to recycle the plastic waste generated in the city, the authorities have decided to repair the 400 metre stretch of the Goshree Road near the Kerala High Court  using bitumen mixed with plastic. The Public Works Department (PWD) has given the nod for the work that costs 30 crore and the work will begin on Monday.PWD Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju said that the decision in this regard was taken as an attempt to solve the menace of the plastic waste.The road is being constructed with the assistance of Kerala Highway Research Institute and National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC). The minister said that the roads that were built by integrating plastic with tar lasted more years than the roads built in the traditional mode.He also said that about 10 per cent of tar could be saved when plastic is mixed in it. The decision to use modern techniques for constructing roads was taken at the infrastructure meeting held recently. Concrete roads were also proposed in the meeting and the first such road will come up in Kochi.