UTILIZATION OF WASTE PLASTIC IN MANUFACTURING OF BRICKS

Abstract

The plastic bricks are lightweight and present a waxy surface. The results of plastic bricks are compared with those of traditional local bricks. It is observed that plastic bricks have low water absorption, low apparent porosity and high compressive strength. Plastic waste which is increasing day by day becomes eyesore and in turn pollutes the environment, especially in high mountain villages where no garbage collection system exists. A large amount of plastic is being brought into the tourist trekking regions are discarded or burned which leads to the contamination of environment and air. Hence, these waste plastics are to be effectively utilized. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene (PE) bags are cleaned and added with sand, cement & fly sash at various percentages to obtain high strength bricks that possess water and sound insulation properties to control pollution and to reduce the overall cost of construction, this is one of the best ways to avoid the accumulation of plastic waste which is an non-degradable pollutant. This alternatively saves the quanta of sand/clay that has to be taken away from the precious river beds/mines. The plastic waste is naturally available in surplus quantity and hence the cost factor comes down. Also Coloring agents can be added to the mixture to attain desired shades. Hence in this thesis, an attempt is made to study regard the properties of the brick which is manufactured using plastic wastes.