Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Millions of tones of plastic waste are generated globally and only less than 10 per cent has been recycled. It is crucial to segregate and circulate plastic waste and repurposing it for countless other uses. There are many ways to repurpose and reuse these discarded plastics. One use that can be examined is the use of plastic as partial sand replacement in mortar. To contribute to this important and valid discourse, the research studies the mechanical and thermal properties of recycled HDPE mortar as an active way of integrating plastic waste into the construction industry to partially eliminate some of the global plastic waste. The methodology used is quantitative where plastic waste mortar cubes, tiles and cylinders were tested using different percentages (0%, 4%, 6%, and 10%) of sand replacement by volume with recycled HDPE. Laboratory results have shown that increase in plastic content in mortar mixtures has decreased compressive and tensile strength as previous research suggests which is not concerning in uses such as mortar plastering applications since it is a non-structural element. On the other hand, there was a decrease in thermal conductivity which suggests that recycled HDPE mortars are better thermal insulators compared to conventional mortar.

Download

Share

COinS