In green move, Gangasagar plastic waste goes into building stronger road in Canning
Times of India | 3 March 2025
12 Kolkata: As debates rage across the nation over the massive waste accumulation at the Maha Kumbh Mela and its environmental impact, with social media flooded with public outrage and criticism from environmentalists, Bengal's South 24 Parganas administration took a significant step toward sustainability. In an eco-friendly initiative, plastic waste collected from Gangasagar Mela is being repurposed for road construction. On Saturday, District Magistrate Sumit Gupta launched the project in Canning-2 Block's Tambuldaho, covering 5 km of road construction.
To enhance road durability, plastic waste is shredded and melted before being mixed with hot bitumen, creating a plastic-modified bitumen blend. This is combined with aggregate to form a stronger, longer-lasting road material. This process helps plastic act as a binding agent, improving bitumen's properties and making roads more resistant to wear and tear, particularly under extreme weather conditions, like flooding. This process extends the lifespan of roads and reduces construction costs by 8%. The authorities plan to expand the project to more roads across the district.
However, this is not the first time plastic waste is being utilised to construct a road. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has used plastic-mixed asphalt to repair roads in Behala's Bakshibagan; Kalyani municipality used plastic-mixed bitumen to lay a road; the state panchayats and rural development (P&RD) department also used plastic waste to build some roads.
Significantly, waste management in Maha Kumbh set a global benchmark for a congregation of this size. However, the Gangasagar Mela, which witnessed over 10 million pilgrims, set a new sustainability benchmark. The administration successfully managed the waste generated at the site with a sustainable solution.
BDO Sagar Kanaiya Kumar Rai confirmed that 4 metric tonnes of plastic waste — mainly packing plastic — was collected from the Gangasagar Mela ground. "The waste undergoes cleaning and shredding, before being mixed with bitumen in a 92:8 ratio, reducing bitumen consumption and making the process eco-friendly," he said.
This initiative is being executed jointly by West Bengal State Rural Development Agency (WBSRDA) and the P&R department.