
Upcycling Plastic Waste for Rural Road Construction in India: An Alternative Solution to Technical Challenges
Year of Publication
2020
This resource digs into two innovations for incorporating plastic waste in all-weather roads in India: Dry-Processed Plastic Waste in Asphalt Mix and Plastic Cell-Filled Concrete Block Pavement.
Source:
Asian Development Bank
Author(s):
Andri Heriawan
Geography:
India
Type:
Case Study
Purpose of Measurement:
Solution Sets and Impact Potential, Assurances
Impact theme(s):
Policy, Capital Flows
This resource digs into two innovations for incorporating plastic waste in all-weather roads in India: Dry-Processed Plastic Waste in Asphalt Mix and Plastic Cell-Filled Concrete Block Pavement. For each method the resource provides guidance on production/quality control, performance monitoring along with results (relative to conventional methods) at test sites in India. The resource proposes a new intervention that combines the two interventions and evaluates potential environmental, cost, and durability implications for each of the three methods. The case study, which focuses on rural roads, observes environmental, durability, and cost benefits from the incorporation of plastic into the test roads. However, the team notes that while asphalt can be recycled, there are no current solutions for recycling roads that include plastic. The carbon footprint of different methods is not considered in the paper.