Performance of AC mixtures containing flakes of LDPE plastic film collected from urban waste considering ageing

Abstract

This paper evaluates the performance of asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures containing flakes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) waste plastic film. After optimum plastic content was defined, moisture susceptibility and workability were assessed. Subsequently, performance was evaluated considering unaged and aged specimens by testing for stiffness, fatigue and rutting resistance. Compared with non-modified mixture, the unaged plastic-modified mixture presented fair moisture susceptibility, acceptable workability, better resistance to traffic-compaction, higher stiffness, higher rutting resistance and slightly lower fatigue resistance. After ageing, the modified mixture performed better in all these aspects. Therefore, incorporating LDPE waste into AC is feasible with environmental and technical benefits.