A man who paves India's roads with old plastic

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/09/the-man-who-paves-indias-roads-with-old-plastic

by nwrk • 8 years ago

33 14 8 years ago

tzakrajs3• 8 years ago

But isn't the problem with plastic in the ground that chemicals would leech out of it and debris would break off from it and be ingested by animals and humans? Is a road that much better than dumping it in the ground away from humans and animals? I worry about physical changes to the road over time. Is it safe to inhale the dust that is generated from wheels rolling over a sun-burdened piece of plastic for years?

ryanx435• 8 years ago

from the article:

To environmentalists who believe that the technology could be harmful because of toxic fumes from plastic residue, Dr Vasudevan points out that the plastic used is softened at 170C. “Plastic decomposes to release toxic fumes only if it is heated at temperatures above 270C (518F). So there is no question of toxic gases being released,” he says. Since plastic coats the stone and interacts with the hot bitumen, it’s properties change and it doesn’t break down when exposed to light and heat.

ryanmercer3• 8 years ago

You don't need toxic fumes, plastic doesn't go away. It breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces and contaminates the environment.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics

tzakrajs3• 8 years ago

Thanks but I said dust not fumes.

ianbicking• 8 years ago

Another part of the question worth asking: is it worse than bitumen? We're already accepting an environmental impact from the roads, does this improve on that or not?

ryanmercer3• 8 years ago

This is terrible. Plastic is forever and breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces entering the environment.

0xcafecafe• 8 years ago

It seems from the article, they have considered that and concluded that since plastic becomes part of the bitumen, and does not exist as plastic particles.

ryanmercer3• 8 years ago

Unless it has chemically changed considerably it's a problem. My impression is they are saying "don't worry, chunks aren't going to break off because it's melted into the bitumen" and are wholly ignoring the micro scale.

coldtea• 8 years ago

That would be an improvement considering the garbage situation in India.

aumerle• 8 years ago

The article is discussing a technique used to dispose of waste plastic. In other words plastic that would exists in macro and micro form regardless of its use to improve roads.

thisisit• 8 years ago

Wasn't this discussed yesterday?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17490990

A man who paves India's roads with old plastic

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