Bengaluru’s KIA Airport Wants You to Donate Plastic Waste To Them. Here’s Why

At a time when everyone is saying no to plastic, Kempegowda Airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Private Limited (BIAL) has launched a campaign called #PlasticBeku (Want Plastic), asking people to donate plastic.

Why? Read on to find out.

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BIAL plans to create build 50-km roads within the BLR Airport campus using discarded plastic. Sundar Chandramouli, VP–Special Projects, BIAL, explains how this initiative came into being and what they wish to achieve.

Genesis of this initiative

Chandramouli says, “For almost a year now, BIAL has been working on trials that would enable the use of plastic in the roads on our campus. After a successful road trial using a mix of plastic and bitumen, BIAL decided to go ahead with building polymersied roads that have a strong binding ability and are able to withstand extreme weather conditions.”

He goes to say that this initiative has come into being based on scientific research, which found that these [plastic] roads are expected to last longer than asphalt roads.

Given that Bengaluru airport generates a large quantum of waste each day, BIAL will use the plastic waste collected through this drive to pave its internal roads. “The #PlasticBeku campaign is one initiative that we believe can change the world,” says Chandramouli.

Who is involved in this?

The #PlasticBeku collection programme will be undertaken at three schools adopted by BIAL – Bettakote Government Lower Primary School, Vijayapura Government Higher Primary Girls’ Model School and Ardeshanahalli Government Lower Primary School and five panchayats of Devanahalli taluk as well as private schools and Resident Welfare Associations in North Bengaluru.
All students and teachers will be encouraged to contribute their household plastic waste to the cause.

Specially-designed dustbins will be placed outside the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), where you can drop your plastic waste. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has given 11 tonnes toward this initiative and BIAL officials feel that this project will be completed by 2021.

How will it be done?

The process that has been undertaken by BIAL is in accordance with the Indian Road Congress’ guidelines. The aggregate and bitumen are heated side by side at 150 degrees Celsius and transferred to the mixing chamber. Nearly 6 to 8 per cent of the waste plastic is blended with the heated mix and topped up on the road.

“Based on scientific research, it has been found that these roads are expected to last longer than asphalt roads. With a vast network of roads within the campus, BIAL, over a period of time, would need many tonnes of waste plastic to meet its requirement,” said a statement from the airport.

According to this report, people around the globe buy a million plastic per minute, and almost 91 per cent of all plastic is not recyclable. In such a scenario, the next best alternative to a complete ban is to reuse plastics in the most effective manner.

We also wrote about how Eraviperoor Panchayat in Kerala, for instance, has implemented a plastic recycling project ,which makes use of non-recyclable plastic for laying roads. With 9,700 tonnes of plastics used in blacktopping 246 kilometres of road, this is a great example of how waste can be turned into something so useful.

“We have just begun the #PlasticBeku campaign and we hope that over a period of time, BIAL becomes a catalyst in encouraging people to be conscious in their use of plastic – avoid it where possible and segregate it when its use is unavoidable,” informs Chandramouli.

Also Read: This Bengaluru Citizen ‘Adopted’ a Street To Transform It & You Can Do It Too!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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