Kollam: Reaping the fruits of 'Suchitwa Sagaram' project to clean the sea and its shores with the help of fishermen who collect plastic waste in nylon bags they carry, a road in Kollam is being tarred using plastic granules.
The 2-km Keralapuram-Kovilmukku is the first such road to use 500 kg of granules converted from plastic waste at the shredding unit in Neendakara.
The harbour engineering department undertook works along the Keralapuram - Puttanimukku - Njettayilmukku - Kovilmukku stretch.
The fisheries department had sanctioned Rs 90 lakh for its construction as part of improving the quality of the coastal road.
Suchitwa Sagaram supplied 500-kg plastic granules for Rs 10,000 for two layers. It included chipping carpet using 12mm rock metal mixed with plastic and tar.
A seal coating above this will be done using 6mm metal and tar. The plastic granules contribute to some 6 per cent of the total tarring materials.
The shredding unit installed at Neendakara by Clean Kerala in association with Suchitwa Mission is capable of processing a tonne of plastic waste per day.
It has a total cost of Rs. 14.70 lakh funded by the Mission. Suchitwa Sagaram distributes nylon bags to each boat that takes off to the sea to collect plastic and fishers take the responsibility of not throwing plastic waste including packages they bring to the sea.
The collected plastic is processed to make plastic beads to use in road construction, in association with the Suchitwa Mission.
The harbours have also been equipped with collection points to dump them. The fishing boats also carry messages in the form of printed stickers to spread awareness among the community.
