Bangalore activist on the road to plastic success story

BEST OUT OF WASTE: Ahmed Khan visits dump yards to collect plastic waste for roads.

Other stories in the section:

After Vienna victory, it's time to face the nation | Man of the match: Pranab

Historic Sunday for India. | Manmohan, Bush congratulate each other

• Delhi bitten by the dengue bug, alarm bells ringing

• CNN-IBN spl: Under the influence, behind the wheel | Vote

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Tale of Two Azmis

Featured Slideshows

Related Headlines

powered by

• Now get fuel from plastics
• Real hero: Mumbai man dies saving drowning couples
• Dr Kidney was ready to flee | Plastic surgery plan

Keywords: Ahmed Khan, KK Plastic Waste Management

Bangalore: Nearly one-fourth of the waste generated in Bangalore everyday comprises plastic.

But Ahmed Khan, Founder of KK Plastic Waste Management, discovered a unique and an innovative way to use the waste to make better and stronger roads.

The plastic he collected has helped pave a 430-km stretch of road.

"It’s creating a lot of awareness. My younger brother and I had a lot of discussion on this issue of plastic being used to make roads," says Khan.

Khan's work takes him to the dump yard everyday. There he uses his patented technology to mix tons of the city's plastic waste with bitumen that's used to construct roads.

The plastic acts a great binding agent to make roads last longer.The technology has also given the city a way to get rid of the 9,000 tons of plastic waste it generates every day.

“When we want to use these for road construction, we need to buy whatever comes and can’t stop anywhere. Even if PWD and others don’t purchase them, we have to stock all the plastic that comes in dump yard,” he says.

He tied up with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to use plastic in laying 40 per cent of the city's roads.

Over five years and many monsoons later, his roads have survived the test.