Strength Characteristics of Subgrade Soil Stabilized with Plastic Bag Strips

Abstract

Plastic is perhaps the most dangerous scrap and pollution that it causes and has become a villain to the society. For the betterment of our planet, we must use and recycle the plastic in a fruitful way. During recycling process due to melting of plastic, toxic gases are released. One of the effective ways to manage plastic waste is using it for soil stabilization. This study investigated the possibility of utilizing plastic bag waste for the reinforcement of soils. The effects of variation in thickness and aspect ratio on strength characteristics were studied in this work. The various thickness ranges used were 15, 30, and 45 μm, and waste plastic carry bag strips were added at 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% concentration. The unconfined compressive strength test was conducted, and the results obtained favorably suggest that up to an optimum value, shear strength increases with increase in plastic content. An improved UCS value was achieved at 0.2% plastic content having an aspect ratio of 2.5. Results of experimental studies on soil reinforced with plastic waste showed that plastic can be effectively used as stabilizing material so as to solve environmental issues.