Pakistan launches first plastic road project

Ataturk Avenue, a prominent road in Islamabad, has been identified as the first road for re-carpeting with plastic under a mega project of the "World Without Plastic" programme.

In collaboration with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and a number of private enterprises, the project to re-carpet national roads will use 8-ton of used plastic (PET bottles) mixed with road constructing material for re-carpeting the road.
 
The project, a first of its kind in Pakistan, will allow the use of recycled PET waste to be part of a circular plastic economy and have a considerably positive impact on the environment, Gulf News reported.

The technology, however, has been used before globally, including in South Asia.

Coca-Cola Pakistan and Afghanistan has partnered with Capital Development Authority (CDA) and TeamUp / National Incubation Centre (NIC) to work towards creating a World Without Waste.

This public-private partnership was finalised at an MoU signing ceremony held at the TeamUp / NIC offices in Islamabad.

The roads re-carpeted with plastic last almost twice as long and are 51 per cent stronger.

According to the project authority, the road will also be a model project in durability, sustainability and cost-effectiveness while being environment-friendly.

This mega-project involves locally introducing the concept of re-carpeting national roads with plastic waste.

Rana Shakeel Asghar Member of Finance & Environment CDA on behalf of the civic agency signed the MoU. "We believe in a clean and green Pakistan, but we also believe in working with each other to create results," he said.

Later, the environmental experts and government officials discussed and debated the project.

Fahad Ashraf, VP and General Manager of Coca-Cola Pakistan-Afghanistan said, "This idea provides a breakthrough solution to bring back plastic waste into the productive economy. And we also want to focus on building a community around the idea and the innovation itself."

"For any concept to be applied and adopted, the people must first believe in it. And it needs to make social and commercial sense," he said.

Parvez Abbasi representing the strategic leadership of the TeamUp/NIC added, "We were keen to lead this because most of the startups and projects here are guided by the Sustainable Development Goals."