The plastic road concept is a recently developed idea that entails the creation of roads from recycled plastic. It features a prefabricated, modular and hollow road structure, all features that make the process of road construction faster, easier and convenient compared to traditional road construction techniques. The PlasticRoad has hollow spaces that can store water temporarily to control flooding. The spaces can also be fitted with transit cables and pipes, reducing excavation damages to them. Other plausible applications are the installation of sensors, heating roads, and even electrical charging of cars.
THIS CONCEPT WAS CONCEIVED TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS SUCH AS PLASTIC WASTE, INCREASED NEED FOR MOBILITY, EXTREME PRECIPITATION, AND A CROWDED SUBSURFACE.
The Technical Concept
There is still much research being put into the PlasticRoad. The stiffness of the road is still being investigated. It can, however, be enhanced by adding sand or crushed stone to the surface of the plastic to increase traction. The road would have no problems with prolonged exposure to the sun or UV light as the recycled plastic material has shown tolerance to these conditions.
Objectives of the PlasticRoad
The plastic road was designed to accomplish the following:
- It is expected to last three times longer than traditional road paving.
- The expected construction time of a new road would reduce by about 70%.
- The plastic road is four times lighter than the traditional road.
- As it is made from recycled material, it is 100% circular.
Advantages of the PlasticRoad
- Construction and maintenance time is significantly reduced.
- The materials for construction are lightweight and prefabricated.
- The concept is more sustainable.
- The hollow space allows for multiple uses of the road such as water cable transit.
- Low maintenance is needed.
- The road is of higher quality and longer lifespan.
- The concept leaves room for more innovation.
- Controls the problem of plastic waste.
Overijssel, in the Netherlands, now has two PlasticRoad bicycle paths, one in Zwolle and one in Giethoorn. Both pilot projects will be regularly evaluated in order to further develop the PlasticRoad concept into a product that can be introduced to the market.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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