Production of Recycled Plastic Coarse Aggregates and its Utilization in Concrete

Abstract

Aggregates are the most consumed natural resource in construction. Increase in the consumption of natural aggregates results in depletion of natural resources and in turn affects the environment. In recent years plastic wastes is increasing constantly. These plastic wastes are discarded or landfilled which is directly affecting the environment. Management of plastic waste has become a serious issue over the world. Depletion in natural resources and enormous plastic waste generation gives an opportunity to find an alternative to natural aggregates. In this context, Recycled Coarse Aggregates (RCA) obtained from waste plastic is one of the ways of reducing the consumption of natural resources. In the present study an attempt has been made to utilize waste plastic as an alternative for coarse aggregate. It consists of collection of statistics of plastic wastes generated and studying its composition. Major types of contributors in plastic waste generation, such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Polypropylene Ether (PPE) plastic types were considered for production of alternative coarse aggregates. M-30 concrete mix made with alternate waste plastic coarse aggregates upto 30% replacement of HDPE, upto 20% replacement of LDPE and upto 30% replacement of PPE were found to exhibit 30MPa compressive strength.