Essay: Recycled Plastics In Concrete - A Comprehensive Review.

The Problem with Plastic Waste Disposal

Numerous waste materials are generated from different industries in the world today. The disposal of the generated degradable wastes especially plastics has been a major topic of discussion in all corners of the world. This is because plastic wastes do not decompose at all, therefore it is a major environmental concern (Basha et.al 2020). Plastics when disposed of they are normally bulky and occupy a lot of lands. Therefore, waste utilization has become one of the best alternative ways of discarding.

A research process is underway surrounding the use of recycled plastic remains in construction to allow us cater for the dangerous effects that normally arise. Recycled plastics have significant influence on the property of hardened as well as fresh concrete. From research it has been realized that the country companies produce 4.7 tones yearly (Almeshal et.al 2020). This figure is extremely large and can lead to a lot of destruction to the environment therefore application of recycled plastic compounds makes the process more economical and at the same time helps in reducing disposal challenges. The reuse of bulky plastic leftovers is regarded to be the most effective means of ensuring the good conditions of the environment. The establishment of newly arising materials used in construction by employing recycled plastics is highly appreciated by the plastic recycling and construction industries for betterment of the surrounding.

This particular dissertation highlights a comprehensive review of the use of recycled plastics in concrete and some of their vitalities to the surrounding environment (Faraj et.al 2020). The paper will display in detail some of the problems and questions which will be tackled during the project, the main objectives of the project, the scope, and the schedule of the work to be performed.  

There are a lot of problems which are encountered due to disposal of the plastic wastes materials in our environment. Whether burnt or disposed of, plastic materials normally lead to a multitude of problems for humans, plants, and animals (Better Material Specs Can Help Enhance the Use of Recycled resin). Some of the problems which are experienced due to poor disposal include, littering and stormed drainage blockage, burning of plastic materials poses dangerous effects on the ozone layer which in turn lead to acid rain thus destroys human, animals and plants health.

From these researched problems it has been realized that utilization of these plastic wastes is the best way to protect and ensure good health (Tuladha  and Yin 2019). Some of the questions imposed on them include, what are some of the best ways to utilize these wastes? What are some of the adverse effects of utilizing rather than disposing of these wastes? What will it course us to apply some of the utilization methods? Which utilization method is the most economical amongst all of them? What is the importance of using recycled plastic wastes in concrete? How can recycled plastics be improved to be better than sand?

The main aim of my project is to use recycled plastic waste materials in construction. Concrete refers to the aggregate of sand and gravel, that is bonded together by cement and water. From research it has been realized that exposing plastic to small, harmless doses of gamma rays, then pulverizing the flakes into a fine powder then mixing the product with the cement to produce a concrete stronger than the normal concrete. Our main aim is then to perform a test with recycled plastics and note some of the variations in their quality, cost, and strength. The sand will be partially replaced with recycled wastes

Our main objective is to realize some of the variations in strength between the normal concrete and the concrete mixed with the recycled plastics, to identify some of the importance of utilizing recycled plastics as well as its cons to the environment. Drawing graphs and tables to easily realize some of avoiding erroneous results and conclusions. Availing a bag of cement, water, well-refined plastic wastes to partially replace the sand, and also to ensure that all the project requirements are availed

For a successful project, the required equipment includes, mixer, cement, sand, recycled plastics, water, and weighing balance. After availing of all these items, it will be easy to experiment more easily.

There are a lot of hindrances which has been realized during the analysis process that might lead to difficulty in performing this project, these includes, cost of requirements, the high cost required to perform may make this idea unworthy; this is because the salary is relatively low, thus making the analysis relatively expensive. Time consumption, a lot of time is required to perform the all the tasks from insertion to completion.

Conclusion

This experiment will expose some of the results which will be used to withdraw some of the importance of utilizing recycled waste plastic flakes. There will also be use of results to note how the utilization of recycled plastics enhances a friendly environment and ensures the well-being of plants and animals.

 Timeline/plan

 References

Basha, S.I., Ali, M.R., Al-Dulaijan, S.U. and Maslehuddin, M., 2020. Mechanical and thermal properties of lightweight recycled plastic aggregate concrete. Journal of Building Engineering, 32, p.101710.

Almeshal, I., Tayeh, B.A., Alyousef, R., Alabduljabbar, H., Mohamed, A.M. and Alaskar, A., 2020. Use of recycled plastic as fine aggregate in cementitious composites: A review. Construction and Building Materials, 253, p.119146.

Faraj, R.H., Ali, H.F.H., Sherwani, A.F.H., Hassan, B.R. and Karim, H., 2020. Use of recycled plastic in self-compacting concrete: A comprehensive review on fresh and mechanical properties. Journal of Building Engineering, 30, p.101283.

Tuladhar, R. and Yin, S., 2019. Sustainability of using recycled plastic fiber in concrete. In Use of recycled plastics in eco-efficient concrete (pp. 441-460). Woodhead Publishing.