Abstract
Recycling waste synthetic resins, including rigid and film plastics, is a pressing issue worldwide due to the issues associated with waste treatment. Using products originating only from plastic wastes could be a promising way to improve the waste recycling rate and address plastic consumption. This study presents the applications of waste plastic films (WPFs) in urban infrastructure and construction materials, especially bearing loads. WPF-recycled products (WPF-RPs) were evaluated for mechanical properties, including strength (compressive and tensile), thermal expansion coefficient, accelerated weathering, dynamic stability, and environmental aspects, such as the presence of hazardous substances. Subsequent tests confirmed moderate strength, good weathering stability against solar irradiation, and superior road pavement vehicle load through wheel-tracking tests compared with the standards for asphalt. Additionally, hazardous substances were mostly not detected or were under permissible limits in the composition and leachate contents of WPF-RPs. After using temporary pavement blocks (TPBs) from WPFs at a field site for one month, we conducted slip resistance tests which gave a result of ~33 British pendulum number, indicating the possible application of WPF-RPs in low-speed driving sections, according to the Korean standards of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Moreover, it was confirmed that fastening structures installed between the TPBs can improve backfilling and compaction defects. This practical research highlights the possible applications of products produced from WPFs for infrastructure development, such as filling materials for burial pipes or tubes; however, these potential aspects should be tested further.
Highlights
Since the development of plastic in the 1950s, its advantages, such as economic price, light weight, and resistance to heat and corrosion, have resulted in the exponential growth in the use of plastic products and generation of plastic wastes, especially by following the conventional “take-make-dispose” linear material flow economic model (Geyer et al, 2017; Horodytska et al, 2018)
Based on the mechanical characteristics of the waste plastic film (WPF)-RPs, the accelerated weathering test, road pavement vehicle stability, environmental assessment, and field tests for temporary pavement block (TPB), we suggest two additional possible applications of waste plastic film-recycled product (WPF-RP), as construction materials for pothole emergency repair and backfilling structures for underground buried pipes (Figure 7)
Potholes formed during rainy season make it difficult to demonstrate the performance of emergency repair materials due to moisture on the road surface, and re-damage most likely occurs after repair (Byzyka et al, 2020)
Summary
Since the development of plastic (or synthetic resin) in the 1950s, its advantages, such as economic price, light weight, and resistance to heat and corrosion, have resulted in the exponential growth in the use of plastic products and generation of plastic wastes, especially by following the conventional “take-make-dispose” linear material flow economic model (Geyer et al, 2017; Horodytska et al, 2018). WPF-RP Application in Construction are generally discharged into the natural environment or end up in landfills (79%) or are subjected to incineration (12%) or recycling (9%) treatment methods (Geyer et al, 2017). Among the multiple applications of plastics, the packaging sector shows the highest use of plastics in the world (36%), Japan (41%), and Korea (47%), followed by the building and construction (12–16%), textile (14%), and transportation sectors (7–12%) (Geyer et al, 2017; Jang et al, 2020). WPF utilization as a waste treatment method is an important topic in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 ensuring sustainable consumption and production to reduce the use of natural resources and manage the lifecycle of plastics (UN, 2016; De Souza, 2019)
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