Utilization of Plastic waste in

bituminous roads
Background
 Majority of packaging materials is made of plastic (such as plastic
bottles and food containers) because it’s inexpensive, yet durable.
 The three quarters of total plastic isn’t recycled and enters our
environment, polluting our oceans and causing damage to our
ecosystem.
 In less developed countries, the majority of plastic waste eventually
ends up in the ocean, meaning that marine animals are especially at
risk
 India’s 4 metro cities alone generate 1670 tons of plastic waste per day
and the total country’s average is 4059.18 tons per day.
 According to FICCI, 43 per cent of India’s plastics are used in
packaging and are single-use plastic
 Reducing plastic consumption and increasing plastic recycling is
crucial if we have to overcome the problem of plastic waste.
Motivation:
 Looking forward the scenario of present life style a complete ban on the use of waste plastic cannot be
put. The government once announced the phasing out of plastic packaging by 2022 but stepped back as it
may be too disruptive for economy
 From time to time government has formulated policies to reduce the use of plastics through Plastic waste
rules, 2011; Plastic waste management rules, 2016. Now Waste to Energy plants are being setup. Plastic
roads can also contribute for efficient disposal of plastic waste.
 95% of the Indian highways are of covered surface by bitumen. The reuse of plastic bags in the
construction of bituminous roads which can solve the problem of dumping. This step can give new
direction for the disposal of plastic waste as an eco-friendly technique to solve the problem of
environmental degradation due to plastics.
 Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) also confirmed that bitumen mixed with plastic or rubber
improves the quality and life of roads.
Objective:

Mix designs for bituminous roads are prepared to provide:

 sufficient workability to permit easy placement without segregation
 sufficient flexibility to avoid premature cracking due to repeated bending by traffic
 sufficient air voids in the compacted bitumen to allow for additional compaction by
traffic
 sufficient strength to resist shear deformation under traffic at higher temperature
The objective of the study is to efficiently utilize the waste plastic in bituminous roads
without hampering the qualities of roads.
 Process:
 The optimum bituminous mix is designed using
ordinary aggregate and plastic coated aggregate.
 For mixing the ingredients of road mix, dry process
was adopted. In this process, waste plastic is mixed
with aggregates and blends of polymer modified
aggregate are prepared by
 Plastic waste is shredded into small size, i.e. 2 mm to 4
mm, molten and thereafter coated over hot aggregate at
160 ºc. and then bitumen is mixed in it. Plastic coated aggregate and Plain aggregate
 The plastic content of 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 % is added
to check the effect of plastic replacement on the
Marshall properties of the mix of bitumen.
 Performance comparison:
Pune Case Study:
Selection of Road:
five plastic roads and five normal bituminous roads which were overlaid between December 2016 and
January 2017 with similar cross-section and similar traffic conditions were selected. All selected roads were
within a periphery of 10-12 km to neglect the impact of age, traffic, and environmental parameters.
Field test conducted:
 Benkelman beam deflection test (BBD) - to determine the viscoelastic property of the bituminous layer
 Skid resistance – To obtain friction factor or skid number (for surface texture properties)
 Roughness test by bump integrator
 Visual inspection for predicting the deterioration
  Four types of distresses parameters were selected as major distresses for
predicting the deterioration which are Cracking, Raveling, Potholes, Rut depth.
 The Delphi Technique (with field experts) was used for calculation of the
Pavement condition index (PCI)
 PCI was used to compare the overall performance of the different roads and
condition of plastic roads was found to be better than traditional bituminous
roads.

Conclusion:
 In a developing country like India, where resources are scarce and efficient maintenance of
bituminous roads is required every year, implementation of plastic roads can bring significant
economic savings for the local authorities who spend a lot every year on pre-monsoon
maintenance of city roads
 The effective utilization of the waste plastic for the preparation of the modified bitumen will
result in a substantial increase in its scrap value, which otherwise is an undesirable waste
material that is littered all over the urban areas.
Future Scope:
 The performance evaluation of plastic roads can be conducted with varying traffic,
environmental and topographical conditions.
 Cost involved can also be estimated.

Limitations of plastic roads:

 Cleaning process: Toxic present in the co-mingled plastic waste would start leaching
 During Road laying process: high temperature produces more toxic gases
 After the road laying: The first rain trigger leaching, plastic will form a sticky layer
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