First in Tripura! Road Constructed from Plastic Waste

Agartala: In a first-of-its-kind initiative the Tripura Government under the Agartala Smart City Limited (ASCL) project, has constructed its first-ever plastic road by using non-recyclable plastic waste.

As per reports, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb stated that the road has been constructed with an aim to reduce plastic waste, whilst making the environment plastic-free.

"In a one-of-its-kind initiative, the road has been constructed with the aim to reduce plastic waste and make the environment plastic-free," Deb said on Monday.

Deb was further quoted as saying that the plastic waste was collected and recycled and then used for the construction of the road. So far a 680-metre-long road in front of the Women's College near BK Road in Agartala.

"This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Tripura and through this, I would like to set an example of how plastic waste is reduced by putting it to judicious use. This initiative is a beautiful example of how we can make our environment plastic-free and use plastic waste in public welfare projects," Deb added.

While talking about the initiative, Shailesh Kumar Yadav, District Magistrate of West Tripura district who also is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ASCL said the top layer, which is around 9 inches thick, was removed so that the road does not become higher. It is a mixture of bitumen and plastic which is used at a 40: 60 ratio.

Yadav further informed that the initiative was undertaken at a cost of around ₹ 70 lakh on a trial basis. He added that this is just a trial but in the coming days, more such plastic roads will be constructed to reuse the plastic waste generated.

Moreover, experiments are being carried out to understand the impact of the use of plastic in the construction of the road along with bitumen specifically in rainy areas that experience waterlogging.

According to reports, the Agartala Municipal Corporation almost generates 19 tonnes of plastic daily and such initiatives are expected to help the authority in better managing the plastic waste.

Earlier, in July 2018 call for such an initiative was raised as a model but due to lack of expertise, things did not materialize.

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