Abstract:
Plastics are the most multipurpose man made materials in the world and are generally used as water bottles, medicine package, liquid container, roof cladding, etc. Plastic has disastrous impact on our environment because of its non-degradable nature. Improper disposal of plastic has a negative effect on the marine life, ground water and on our environment. Therefore, the present research work focuses on the use waste plastic in construction activities, particularly in producing bricks, which would help minimize the negative effects of waste plastics in our environment while at the same time producing cost effective plastic bricks. Experimental tests were conducted by casting several test specimens of bricks of size 190 mm x 90 mm x 90 mm by mixing molten plastic with sand, moorum, or quarry dust with ratios of 25:75, 30:70, 35:65, 40:60 and 45:55. The tests were done in five replications. The casted bricks were kept for 7 days before testing the physical properties according to ASTM specifications (i.e., compressive strength, weight, water absorption tests, etc.). These ratios were selected after running some preliminary tests. As far as compressive strength is concerned, for all the materials the plastic ratio 35% plastic gave superior results. Comparison among the materials showed significant differences between moorum and the other two materials. Water absorption tests showed comparable results with bricks made from clay and cement. The study also indicated that, as the percentage of plastic increases, water absorption capacity of bricks decreased. The weights of bricks showed quadratic decline as the fraction of plastic increased. From the three materials moorum showed lower weight and was significantly different from the other two. The study showed promising results but more study is required to quantify the volatile gases emitted during melting of the plastic and also the effect of heat on the bricks
