Recycling Plastic into Roads in India

K Ahmed Khan came up with an idea to mix recycled plastic with ashphalt to lay roadways. Khan has been running his company, KK Polyflex, for 20 years, producing plastic sacks. About 8 years ago he realised that the anti-plastics lobby had a point, and that the industry was ignoring the problem of plastic waste. He rolled up his sleeves to create an opportunity out of the situation. The plastic appears to have strengthened roads by enhancing ashphalt's bonding ability, and made the roads longer lasting by rendering them more impervious to water.

"In 15 days we collected 18 tonnes of waste," says Ahmed Khan. Barring rigid plastics, they accept all manner of film waste without the need for sorting. He has a contract to lay 500 miles of roads in Bangalore, where the suitability of the new roadway will be closely monitored. :: via Good News India [by Justin Thomas]

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