Now use of plastic waste a must to construct roads at Baddi

Talking to the Indian Express, Lalit Jain, Chief Executive Officer, BBNDA said that an experiment was done by the development authority with the technical assistance of Central Road Research Institution, in which 2 per cent of the total bitumen was mixed with plastic shredded waste, like plastic packets, plastic bottles, which are first shredded, cleaned and washed and then mixed in the bitumen.

Baddi – the biggest pharmaceutical hub of Asia – produces around 70 tonnes of total waste including 25 tonnes of plastic waste on a daily basis. (Express photo)

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In a bid to promote sustainable practices, the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) has made the use of plastic waste compulsory for the construction of all the roads in Baddi. According to the data available with the BBNDA, Baddi – the biggest pharmaceutical hub of Asia – produces around 70 tonnes of total waste including 25 tonnes of plastic waste on a daily basis.

Talking to the Indian Express, Lalit Jain, Chief Executive Officer, BBNDA said that an experiment was done by the development authority with the technical assistance of Central Road Research Institution, in which 2 per cent of the total bitumen was mixed with plastic shredded waste, like plastic packets, plastic bottles, which are first shredded, cleaned and washed and then mixed in the bitumen.

“After successful trials, we have decided to make it compulsory to use this formula everywhere in BBN area. It will not only bring down the cost of the construction of roads in the area, as bitumen is Rs 100 per kg in comparison to plastic waste which is Rs 30 per kg, but will save a lot of foreign exchange for the country as bitumen is imported by us from other countries and is very costly,” Jain added.

He further said that the BBN area also has a lot of plastic waste due to the presence of so many industries, making this initiative a way to recycle tonnes of plastic waste. “We have requested National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) too as Baddi-Nalagarh National highway is being constructed here, to use plastic waste in the construction of the highway,” the official said.

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Jain said being a pharmaceutical hub, thousands of industries are there in this area, so it is very important to implement this system of recycling plastic waste in this way. “According to the data, total waste in BBN area generated by the industries is around 70 tonnes a day, about 25 tonnes of which is plastic waste on a daily basis. While most of the plastic bottles are recycled by BBN area, but the problem comes when it comes to the waste like huge plastic packets, polythene which are used by the industries etc which cannot be recycled in any form. And it is this waste that we are looking forward to use and recycle for the construction of roads,” he added.

While for the residents of the BBNDA, they claim that the use of plastic waste in the construction of the roads, will go a long way in making Baddi a greener and better place. “Many of our residents prefer moving out to stay in the Tricity as Baddi being a house to several industries, does not provide clean and fresh air, especially for the elderly and little ones,” Raajan Sharma, a resident of Baddi sai. He said such steps taken by the BBNDA will bring some relief for the residents and help to turn Baddi into a more “livable” and “pollution free” place.

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road construction