Following the success of pilot projects, India has proposed to use inorganic solid waste in construction of highway road projects,  according to news reports. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued guidance for the use of inert material from solid waste in the building of embankments across national highways. 

The MoRTH and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) undertook two pilot projects for utilisation of inert material which is one of the major components of municipal solid waste. The first pilot project was carried out in Delhi-NCR on Urban Extension road and DND Sohna spur of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the second was inert solid waste material was used on Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway. 

The office memorandum noted that the disposal of solid waste generated on a daily basis is a major environmental challenge being faced in urban areas across the country. As per rough assessment, around 10,000 hectares of land is locked in dump sites. Due to limited land availability, these landfill sites are on verge to attain maximum capacity and pose serious environmental and health hazards, it added

As per the draft document, MoRTH has taken up large scale development of highways including greenfield projects across the country. The construction of embankment of highways requires huge amounts of soil which at times is required to be procured from agriculture fields. 

The document said there is a need for utilisation of processed inorganic solid waste in construction of embankments on highways and other roads in the country.