Gist of YOJANA : Plastic Waste in Construction and Road Making

The Government of India is encouraging waste plastic usage for roads and highway construction. It is not just the accumulation of plastics that harms the environment- it is also the fragments and toxins released during photo-decomposition that pollute our soil and water.
Melting down old plastic waste to repurpose it into useful new items is one of the ways of reducing the plastic in the oceans and landfills.
Post-consumer recycled (PCR) garbage is used in creating new polymer modified asphalt roads. These are found to be more resistant to erosion from weather and vehicle use, and the number of new potholes formed is reduced.
Use of plastic along with bitumen in construction of roads not only increases its life and smoothness but also makes it economically sound and environmentally friendly. It has been found that such roads were not subject to stripping when coming in contact with water.
Use of a higher percentage of plastic waste reduces the need of bitumen by 10%. It also increases the strength and performance of the road.