In India, thousands of kilometers of roads are made from plastic waste

The Indian state of Kerala, in the far south of the country, has been a pioneer in the development of roads built with plastic. This technique has been used for seven years. The authorities first organized a large system of collection of plastic waste from individuals, then sorting. Most of the plastic collected is recycled, and a part, composed mainly of lesser quality, is cut into small pieces. It is these plastic confetti that will replace part of the bitumen to make roads.

>> Winter drought: India and Turkey also face low rainfall

Among the advantages of this technique, there is first of all the recovery of the used plastic which is otherwise burned or ends up in the huge landfills. Every year, India produces more than two million tons of unrecycled plastic waste. This method also reduces the use of bitumen, which is a hydrocarbon, of which approximately 8% is replaced by this plastic.

Impermeable roads

Finally, this technique makes roads more waterproof and resistant to bad weather, thanks to the properties of plastic. “We are near the mountains, in a very rainy area, but this road has little damagedescribes Dinaj ML, a municipal engineer in Kerala, showing a road built five years ago. We will be able to wait two or three years before renovating it, whereas with a conventional road, you would already have a lot of potholes.”

However, this process must respect two important rules: heat the plastic to less than 300 degrees, and do not use PVC, because otherwise it emits gases that are toxic to the environment. In recent years, many other countries have also started to incorporate plastic into their roads, using different techniques, such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, or South Africa.