This waste can pave your roads

An engineering student is trying to figure out how to put marble dust to good use and save the environment in the process

A student of RV Engineering College, Bangalore, is trying to do is to mix marble dust with bituminous concrete and see how it can be used for paving roads, and in the process help use marble waste which has become a nuisance.


Pollution: Marble waste is dumped on the outskirts of the city

"We have approached the Indian Institute of Science to conduct further experiments in their labs and they have agreed. Few more tests have to be conducted by mixing bitumen with marble waste and find out a suitable and sustainable ratio. Later, we will test it on a track after all tests are conducted.

In some countries, they use some percentage of marble dust in laying roads and it has shown good results," said Vinay Kumar, an M Tech student doing Highway Technology from RV College.

Each year, about 7-8 million tones of marble waste is produced in India and dumped in open fields and low-lying areas as fillers. This waste also causes air pollution, since it's a fine dust, and mostly causes respiratory problems.

"By using this waste, low cost roads can be laid in rural areas," Kumar added. Disposal of marble waste has become a major issue in India. China has the largest deposits of marble reserves and it is the number one in the world. It sends huge blocks of unfinished marble to India for finishing, leaving the large quantities of marble waste here.

The waste is used in cement industry, brick manufacturing, petroleum industry, filler materials and to de-sulpharise the smoke from coal-fuelled plants and so on. But in all these industries, only a percentage of the waste is used.

"This waste also affects the ground water, and during the rains, these small particles flow to the lakes. KIADB has allotted land for industrial purposes, but there should be a designated spot to dispose the waste, which is not done.

Scientific disposal of industrial waste is very important which is not done properly," said a senior Karnataka State Pollution Control Board official.

The marble waste is dumped at Jigani, on the outskirts of the city.

1,200mu00a0 tonne India's estimated marble reserves

1,100m tonne Estimated Marble reserves inu00a0 Rajasthan alone