This Bengaluru Social Venture Builds Road With 100% Recycled Plastic Waste To Ease Traffic Congestion

PotHoleRaja, a social venture on a mission to fix Indian roads, has laid down a new concrete road connecting Bengaluru's RMZ Ecoworld and the outer ring road to ease the traffic congestion in the area. This project has been undertaken under a partnership between PotHoleRaja, ORR companies and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The new road has been constructed using a first-of-its-kind solution called 'GridMats'-a revolutionary patented product that is eco-friendly, durable and crafted entirely from 100 per cent recycled plastic waste to build pavements and roads.

Cheaper And High-Quality Surface

Made from recycled polypropylene, GridMats are placed above the bedding layer and packed with different filling options, creating a permanent, flat, high-quality surface in less than half the time and at 20-25 per cent cheaper the cost.

"Currently, commuters exiting eco world to go towards Marathahalli have to take a big U-turn at Bellandur and those who are entering the eco world from outer ring road face a lot of inconvenience due to the traffic pile up in the area. This pile-up is primarily due to commuters taking a u-turn in a congested junction. A well-designed connecting road directly to the eco world will cut down on commuting time to a great extent," Sourabh Kumar, Director, PotHoleRaja said.

Through GridMats, Kumar claims that they have used around 3000 kg of plastic waste in building the road. It consumes 30 per cent less water than traditional concrete roads and does not require any steel reinforcement.

Reduces Carbon Emissions

To complete this construction, traditional concrete road technology would have emitted 46.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. However, our GridMats produce only 11.9 tonnes—a significant reduction compared to the conventional method," Kumar said, adding that they have cut down on close to 34.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, which is equivalent to emissions produced by driving a car for 1,38,600 km.

PotHoleRaja has grown from doing small pothole fixing drives and CSR interventions to making model roads/junctions and working with some of the biggest corporations and organisations in the country. It maintains the roads of the entire city using all weatherproof automated machines and construction of roads from recycled plastic waste. They have mended over 20,000 potholes across over 30 cities, operations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, Jamshedpur and more.

Meanwhile, BBMP identified over 9,500 potholes earlier this year in Bengaluru, and counting is still on. With the city regularly witnessing rains, many roads have worn out, and the number of potholes keeps increasing.

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