Plastic roads are the future!

CRUMBLING and neglected roads can lead to dangerous potholes and agonising delays as a result of costly road works. But a new design could mean when a section of road gets damaged, it can easily be removed and replaced, after a Dutch company announced their plans to build prefab plastic roads that could slot together like Lego bricks.

The project, dubbed PlasticRoad, would see Rotterdam become the first city in the world to lay down plastic road tiles made in a factory in advance. The idea has been put forward as a greener alternative to asphalt, as each module will be made from recycled plastic bottles.

The company behind the idea, VolkerWessels, said that the surface would require less maintenance and could withstand more extreme temperatures — between -40°C (-40°F) and 80°C (176°F). Also, the roads would be quicker to build, taking weeks instead of months.

The plan could also be more environmentally friendly, as asphalt is responsible for 1.6m tonnes of CO2 emissions a year globally, making up two per cent of all transport emissions, according to the firm. So far the project is still in a conceptual stage but the company say they will be ready to lay down the first plastic roads within three years.

PHOTOGRAPHER Sergey Anashkevych, took the snaps, of this glistening pink water washing over golden brown rocks that penetrate its shimmering surface and can be found in Ukraine.

In different lights, the shallows of Koyashskoye Salt Lake — an unofficial natural wonder — shine from a dusky pink to deep scarlet. The shores of the lake consist of the crystallised salt with the scent of viola.

The water is red because of Dunaliella algae, which lives in very salty water and in some conditions starts to multiply rapidly which makes the water really red. Sergey said: “In the spring the lake colour is tenderly pink — and bright-red during the summer hot pink.

“The air is very humid and very salty your skin, clothes and equipment end up covered by this sticky, thin film.”

WHO needs canvas when you have your own palms? Well certainly not Russell Powell, who has a talent for painting beautiful detailed portraits on to the palm of his left-hand.

Russell works full time as a teacher in San Jose, California. When he make portraits he has to work quickly, as once his portrait is complete he stamps it on to paper.

The resulting print has a ghostly feel, with the lines on Russell’s hands merging with the faces he’s drawn. But the art is still the extraordinary!