Centre sanctions Rs 17.16 lakh project to study possibility of building low cost hygienic toilets using Plastone

MADURAI: The Centre has sanctioned a Rs 17.16 lakh project to study the possibility of building low cost hygienic toilets in villages using pre-fabricated structure made up of waste plastic stone blocks, officials said.

According to officials of the Centre for Studies on Solid Waste management of the local Thiagarajar College of Engineering which had developed "Plastone", a sturdy block made with waste plastic and stone, the project would study the use of plastone in building toilets over 12 months.

Chemical engineering professor R.Vasudevan, who led the team which developed the technology for plastic roads, describes Plastone as synthetic granite.

According to him, it could be used in the place of bricks or cement blocks.

He received the Safai Giri Award instituted by the India Today Group from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on October 2 for this innovation.The award has been instituted to recognise innovations in the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The equipment needed for making plastone blocks using shredded waste plastic and aggregate had already been installed at the college and an improved version was also getting ready, officials said.

During the laboratory tests, Plastone was found to be strong and it withstood pressure and also resisted water percolation.

Officials said it had a higher transverse strength of 300 kg, whereas a cement block's strength is 60 to 70 kg.

The width of the cement block is about three cm and 'plastone' has 1.5 cm thickness.The cost of one 'plastone' block comes to about Rs 32, they added.