Municipal Waste for Construction of Highways

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had entrusted the assignment of technically verifying whether Solid Waste Material generated from Municipal and City waste can be utilised for highway construction to CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).

Director CRRI presented the report and findings to Chairman NHAI in presence of senior NHAI officers and various stake holders.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (East) had earlier approached NHAI to make use of waste at Ghazipur Landfill site, whereupon Chairman NHAI had commissioned analytical study through CRRI.

NHAI plans utilisation of this Solid Waste Material for its highways construction program on NH-24, i.e. Meerut Expressway. To allay the doubts of Concessionaires and to encourage them to utilise this waste, NHAI has offered to indemnify the Concessionaires for the stretches where this waste material shall be tried.

Also, NHAI will write to Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change to allow usage of solid waste material in lieu of fly-ash wherever feasible. This initiative of NHAI shall promote the construction of Green Highways in the country as it amounts to substantial replacement of natural earth, mining of which causes environmental problems.

NHAI is already utilising fly-ash upto 30% of earth filling in the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and using other slag materials elsewhere. This will be in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directions for use of waste in a productive way.

Study done:

The CSIR-CRRI conducted a study by collecting 70 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste from different locations of 5, 10 and 15 years old from Ghazipur land fill site of Municipal Corporation of Delhi and have recommended the following:

The municipal solid waste contains about 65 to 70 % of Soil components which can be used in embankment construction after segregation from the municipal solid waste. The methodology suggested for use is by drying the collected municipal solid waste and passing through different sieves.

The percentage passing from the 16 mm sieve contains 44 to 48 % of municipal solid waste which can be directly used in embankment construction. For utilising the municipal solid waste passing through 32 mm sieve, the segregation of plastic material and PVC etc., will have to be blown by using high capacity blowers at the segregation plant.