A plastics material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic amorphous solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically high molecular weight polymers and may contain other substances to improve performance and / or reduce costs. Plastic monomers are natural or synthetic organic compounds.
Roads built using waste plastic, popularly known as Plastic Roads, are found to work better compared to those built with conventional bitumen. The Indian Center for Plastics in the Environment (ICPE) has been promoting the use of plastic waste to build asphalted roads. A few test roads have been successfully paved by combining plastic waste with bitumen. Plastic roads mainly use plastic bags, disposable cups and bottles that are collected in landfills as an essential ingredient of construction material. When mixed with hot bitumen, the plastics melt to form an oily layer on the aggregate and the mixture is deposited on the road surface as a normal tar road.
The problem:
1) Disposal of plastic waste is a major problem
2) It is not biodegradable
3) The combustion of these waste plastic bags causes environmental pollution.
4) It is mainly composed of low density polyethylene
5) To determine its usefulness in bituminous mixes for road construction, laboratory performance studies on bituminous mixtures were carried out. Laboratory studies have shown that plastic waste increases the property of the mixture.
6) Improving the properties of the bituminous mixture provides the solution for a useful disposal of plastic waste.