Sagar Islands: To promote a clean and green Gangasagar Mela, the district administration has placed special emphasis on plastic waste collection, segregation and its use for the generation of “wealth”.
“We have earmarked three locations in Sagar Islands — Beach No. 6, Beach No. 1A and the new bus stand at Sagar — for category-wise segregation of plastic waste collected from the sea beach and adjoining areas during the Gangasagar Mela. After segregation, a large portion of the plastic will be transported to our plastic waste management (PWM) unit at Rudranagar, where it will be processed into shredded plastic to be used for the construction of rural roads across South 24-Parganas,” a district administration official said.
The by-product of waste plastic, popularly known as shredded plastic, produced at the Rudranagar plant is currently catering to the requirements of several blocks in South 24 Parganas, including Canning, Baruipur and Thakurpukur–Maheshtala, for the construction of plastic-mixed bituminous roads. The PWM unit at Rudranagar has emerged as a frontrunner in the state in processing shredded plastic. The remaining portion of plastic waste, after segregation, is transported to Kulpi in the district, where plastic granules are produced. These granules are widely used across various industries, including automotive, technology products, medical equipment, bioplastics, electrical engineering and beverage manufacturing.
The district administration has been pushing for a plastic-free Gangasagar for the last few years, a move that has contributed to the steady collection of plastic waste from various blocks of Sagar and the sea beach. A Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) department official said plastic-modified bitumen helps prevent cracks and enhances overall road quality. “Such roads are more durable and resilient to extreme temperatures, waterlogging and wear and tear caused by heavy traffic movement. The cost of bitumen can also be reduced by using plastic waste as an additive, making the process potentially cheaper in areas with abundant plastic waste,” the official added.
This year, under the Pathashree–Rastashree project, the P&RD department has received sanction for the construction of 1,759.619 km of bituminous roads across the state using plastic waste.