Asia Book of Records Recognition for Innovative Use of End-of-Life Plastic in the Road Infrastructure

CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), in collaboration with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), has been recognised by the India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records for establishing the record titled “First Roadblock Section Constructed Using Technical Textile Geocell Made from End-of-Life Plastic.”

The recognition from the Asia Book of Records, a premier organisation that certifies extraordinary feats and groundbreaking records across Asia, acknowledges the novelty and impact of this first-of-its-kind demonstration in road engineering.

This achievement marks an important milestone in sustainable road infrastructure development by demonstrating the scientific and practical utilisation of end-of-life plastic in the road and construction sectors.

The felicitation ceremony was held at the Auditorium, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi, in the gracious presence of Dr. (Mrs.) N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR.

The recognised technology involves developing and applying technical textile geocells made from processed end-of-life plastic, providing an innovative way to convert difficult-to-manage plastic waste into value-added infrastructure materials.

Director CSIR-CRRI, Dr Ch. Ravi Sekhar shared that this initiative addresses two critical national priorities: sustainable waste management and resilient road construction.

By integrating end-of-life plastic into geocell-based roadblock applications, the technology contributes to the circular economy while reducing the environmental burden of plastic disposal.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ambika Behl, Scientist F from CSIR-CRRI, said This accomplishment reflects the strength of collaborative research between CSIR-CRRI and BPCL, and reinforces our commitment to developing scalable, field-oriented technologies that contribute to sustainable and resource-efficient road engineering.

This recognition by the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records is an important milestone, demonstrating how scientific innovation can address the growing challenge of end-of-life plastic waste management through practical infrastructure solutions.

Mr Gagandeep Singh, a Scientist from CRRI, shared that the key aspect of this work was to ensure that the end product not only addressed waste utilisation objectives but also met engineering performance requirements in terms of structural integrity, durability, and field applicability.

Extensive material characterisation, performance evaluation, and validation studies were undertaken to assess the suitability of the developed geocell system for road applications.

Dr Mahesh Kasture, Chief Manager BPCL, highlighted the importance of industry-academia collaboration in translating research into scalable field applications. The achievement also reflects India’s growing commitment to sustainable infrastructure solutions that support environmental stewardship and resource efficiency.

Dr T. Chiranjeevi, GM (R&D), BPCL, stated that, given the current working mandate of the refineries, the project was undertaken as part of BPCL’s sustainability goals and helps fulfil some of its requirements.

Finally, the overall achievement of the innovative use of plastic in the road Infrastructure was highlighted, and the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Vinod Kumar, Chief Scientist, CSIR-CRRI.