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Indonesia works on plastic tar road project to reduce marine debris
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According to data from researcher Jenna R. Jambeck in 2015, Indonesia ranked second on the list of the world’s biggest plastic waste producers with 187.2 million tons of plastic trash, after China with 262.9 million tons. (Shutterstock.com/Don Mammoser)
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ndonesia is mulling to apply India’s plastic recycling breakthrough in the construction sector, the plastic tar road, as part of its voluntary commitments in the United Nations (UN) to reduce marine plastic debris.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the project was part of the government’s plan of action to reduce plastic waste, aside from the development of bio-plastic from cassava and seaweed, waste to energy development and waste bank empowerment.
“We have sent our inspection team to India, coordinated with the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry and designed the model to be applied possibly in Bali for roads in rural areas,” he said in New York on Wednesday.
As of today, there are more than 21,000 miles of plastic roads in India, mostly in Tamil Nadu state. Only a small number of the plastic roads were built in cities such as Chennai and Mumbai.
The inspection team, Luhut further explained, had reported that the polymer road could slash the cost of road construction and maintenance by 7 to 10 percent. “In the future, we must involve the investors in this project so that we have more private entities involved in the plastic reduction effort,” he said.
Aside from the plastic road project, Luhut continued, Indonesia was also working on cleaning the ocean from plastic debris by involving young Dutch inventors who have invented technology to massively remove plastic waste from the sea.
