In the streets of Pokhara, in the heart of Nepal, vehicles drive on paved streets made with plastic waste, a small contribution from the country to the fight against pollution.
Urban areas in Nepal generate around 5,000 tons of solid waste per day, of which 13% is plastic according to the World Bank.
Valued plastics, such as bottles, are absorbed by the recycling industry, but low-value plastics pose a challenge because they do not fit into any recycling category.
For a group of young Nepalese entrepreneurs, the accumulation of this low-value plastic presented an opportunity.
“A plastic road can even use low-value plastics,” noted Bimal Bastola, founder of Green Road Waste Management, leading the initiative.
“We saw the possibility of using those plastics as raw material, partially replacing asphalt in road construction,” he explained.
Plastic paving process
Discarded packages of noodles, cookies, and other snacks go through a conveyor belt at their waste sorting center. The plastic is taken to machines that shred it.
Since the early 2000s, India has been a global leader in plastic road construction, and even made the use of plastic mandatory on roads near major cities.
More countries are using it, like neighboring Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Asphalt is the unifying material in traditional road construction.
With the plastic method, the construction material is covered with plastic pieces before adding the asphalt.
“This method reduces the need for fresh raw materials, lowers costs, prevents water infiltration, and increases road durability,” Bastola stated.
Studies show that roads paved with plastic waste can last twice as long as regular roads.
Benefits and challenges of plastic recycling
Globally, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, 19% is incinerated, and almost half ends up in landfills, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Plastic accumulated in the environment is non-biodegradable, taking centuries to decompose into microscopic particles.
Nepal banned single-use plastic bags but the restriction is not strictly enforced.
For Bastola, road construction with plastic is key to giving economic viability to low-value plastic.
His organization mentions that about two tons of plastic are used to build one kilometer of road.
The company has completed 10 projects for just over 1.5 kilometers.
“We are working on a small scale, we need to scale up,” Bastola emphasized.
“We have to carry out government-level projects and we are trying to work closely with the roads department,” he pointed out.
A pilot project is planned for this year at a major intersection in the capital, Kathmandu.
Environmental considerations and opportunities
According to the World Bank, the analysis of the life cycle of plastic roads is limited, and it is not clear what their environmental impact is.
“Initial experiences and pilot studies are promising, but more research is needed to measure emissions during production, assess the release of microplastics over time, and determine how roads behave over time when their lifespan expires,” said Valerie Hickey, director of the World Bank’s climate change group.
Despite concerns, environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar believes that plastic roads offer Nepal a significant opportunity.
“It is an easy way to address two problems at once: the need for solid roads and the management of plastic waste for a developing country like Nepal,” he expressed.
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