Waste Diversion Research Articles

Textile waste in Ontario, Canada: Opportunities for reuse and recycling

Textile waste is a new waste category, and there is a lack of research on the quantity and quality of textiles in the municipal waste stream. Textile quality analysis (i.e., the condition of the item and its fibre content) is particularly time-consuming and requires specific textile and grading knowledge; however, it is essential in determining possibilities for reuse and recycling. Likewise, there is a lack of methods for conducting textile waste assessments. This study presents a novel procedure for assessing textile waste, starting with a definition of textile waste from the perspective of the circular economy and waste management. The assessment procedure uses textile collectors for categorizing and grading textiles, and categorizes textiles into six categories and 44 sub-categories. The researchers analyzed 1767.6 kg of textile waste or 10,716 items, collected from Ontario municipalities over three periods from 2019 to 2020. Textiles made up 4.4% of the residential waste stream. Based on 2018 data on Canadian waste generation, we estimate that Canada-wide, this would result in 462,704 tonnes of textile waste, or 12 kg of textile waste per person. We found that 65% of this waste could be reused, and 21% recycled. Diverting this waste would result in large environmental benefits and economic savings. Currently, managing this waste is expensive and represents a missed opportunity to utilize materials that could have either been reused or recycled. We conclude that there are opportunities for increasing the circularity of textiles through various waste diversion programs in Ontario.

Identification and quantification of major components of waste diversion and their recovery rates in current waste management system in Peshawar, Pakistan

Identification and quantification of major components of waste diversion and their recovery rates in current waste management system in Peshawar, Pakistan

Meeting urban GHG reduction goals with waste diversion: multi-residential buildings

Waste diversion targets are a common characteristic of municipal climate change mitigation plans because about two-thirds of residential waste sent to landfills is degradable and thus contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper focuses on the challenge of achieving waste diversion targets in multi-residential buildings because their diversion rates are much lower than those for single-family homes. A case study of 15 high-rise condominium and cooperative housing buildings compares modes of governance by the City of Toronto and by multi-residential buildings to address waste diversion challenges. City responses to the challenges included mandatory building standards making waste diversion as convenient as garbage disposal, voluntary standards for in-suite storage of recyclables and organics, phase-in of organics collection and pay-as-you-throw collection fees, and delivery of promotion and education programs. For buildings, the responses were fines for poor-quality sorting, conversion of the garbage chute to an organics chute, the delivery of education material to residents, and monitoring bin capacity. Despite these initiatives, Toronto is very unlikely to meet its target of diverting 70% of residential waste away from disposal in landfill by 2030. Seven actions are recommended to increase the rate of diversion. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> Recommended actions for Toronto and other municipalities facing similar waste diversion deficits in the multi-residential sector include: studying the potential for converting garbage chutes to organic chutes, assessing the effectiveness of different chute systems, modifying waste collection service agreements or city bylaws to incorporate obligations for promotion and education around waste diversion, revising building standards to require more space for diversion facilities inside buildings, adopting voluntary building standards for building operations, and advocating with higher levels of government to regulate packaging complexity.

Does the presence of heavy metal and catechol contaminants in organic waste challenge the physiological performance of the bioconverter Hermetia illucens?

The increased human activities and the worldwide population growth are constantly increasing the production of solid wastes. Over the years, waste management has thus become a prominent issue for several companies and municipalities, and several engineering techniques have been developed over the years in order to convert wastes into other solid materials or fuels. Yet, several techniques are important contributors to environmental pollution, and biological-based solutions have thus become progressively very popular. In particular, insect-based conversion of organic wastes represent eco-friendly tools, and the growth and development of insect species such as the black soldier fly have been tested and improved for a large diversity of organic wastes. However, organic wastes, including food wastes, may contain several pollutants such as heavy metals and catechol which could affect the bioconversion efficiency by incurring physiological costs that would be undetectable at the organismal level, i.e. have null to little effects on the life cycle of Hermetia illucens. In this context, assessments of antioxidant capacities can provide a rapid and low-cost evaluation of the capability of insects to handle exposure to heavy metals and catechol. Here, we aimed at measuring the physiological responses of the black soldier fly H. illucens grown on food wastes (kitchen, fruit or vegetable wastes) contaminated by cadmium, iron, lead or catechol. Biomarkers of oxidative stress (concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and protein carbonyls), non-enzymatic total antioxidant capacity (ascorbic acid amounts) and activity of enzymatic antioxidants (activities of superoxide dismutase and polyphenoloxidase) were measured from the gut of the larvae. We found no evidence of deleterious impacts of food waste contamination by catechol or heavy metals on H. illucens. In most experimental treatments, the array of physiological endpoints we measured for evaluating the degree of oxidative stress experienced by the larvae remained similar to controls. Possible physiological effects were reported for cadmium and catechol only, which tended to increase the oxidation of proteins and hydrogen peroxide in the larvae. Finally, our results suggested that the nature of the food waste could equally affect the physiological responses of the insect.

Environmental Impact Assessment of a Solar Drying Unit for the Transformation of Food Waste into Animal Feed

Food waste valorization via its transformation into animal feed is a viable alternative for improving food security and the diversion of organic waste from landfills. The manuscript presents the environmental impact assessment of the construction and operation of a novel solar food waste drying unit on the island of Crete in Greece, which is treating food waste from hotels. Life cycle assessment is utilized for the impact assessment. The results indicate a total carbon footprint of approximately 217.5 kg CO2 eq. per ton of treated food waste. In conclusion, the operation phase is the major contributor to the environmental impacts, due to the utilization of electricity.

Circular Economy Design towards Zero Waste: Laying the foundation for constructive stakeholder engagement on improving construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) waste management

The city of Montréal is one of many cities worldwide who strive to cut the amount of waste they generate and advance towards zero waste in an effort to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) waste is a major contributor to urban waste streams but also an area where waste diversion and innovative waste management approaches could deliver significant reductions in waste. One such promising approach is that of circular economy which envisions a future where CRD waste is designed-out of the built environment by keeping construction materials in use. This paper presents a series of methods used to collect and organize data towards advancing circular thinking within CRD material management decision-making in Montréal and mobilizing engagement with the relevant data. Methods includes a detailed literature review, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from across the building sector value chain followed by a thematic analysis. Collected data is mapped to the internationally recognized United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework in an aim to provide globally significant methodologies which cities worldwide can use to showcase contributions to the UN SDGs. Advancing towards zero CRD waste in Montréal will require the input of multiple stakeholders. The work presented in this paper is part of a larger research effort which works to deliver an initial but vital first step in the collection, integration, and dissemination of data towards a circular, more sustainable, built environment.

Determining the Feasibility of a Circular Economy for Plastic Waste from the Construction Sector in New Zealand

By 2012, the annual quantity of C&D waste produced by 40 countries had reached three billion tonnes, contributing 10-50% to total municipal solid waste around the world. Recent data from Australia and New Zealand estimated a combined contribution of approximately 28 million tonnes C&D waste to landfill for just 0.4% of the world’s population. If C&D waste was produced at an equal rate around the world, global production could be close to seven billion tonnes. In 2015, the global production of plastic waste from building and construction was 13 million tonnes. It is estimated that annually, C&D waste contributes ≥25,000 tonnes to the total amount of plastic landfilled in one major city (Auckland) alone. Waste audits from four sites demonstrated that this was predominantly polyethylene (PE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and was derived from packaging, building componentry and building protection equally. The aims of this study were to implement a ‘foundations to completion’ plastic waste audit on a new secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. This sheds light on the nature of the plastic waste, e.g., type, use and potential for recyclability or reuse. The aim was to also identify the challenges in the construction industry that hinder effective waste diversion from landfill, and to trial practical on-site solutions.

Life cycle analysis of polylactic acids from different wet waste feedstocks

Producing a valuable chemical product through diversion of wet wastes can simultaneously resolve the problems associated with increasing wastes and greenhouse gas emissions from conventional chemical production processes. In this work, we investigated the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, water, and fossil-fuel consumption for waste-derived polylactic acids (PLA) from three different waste feedstocks, namely wastewater sludge, food waste, and swine manure, using the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET) model. The decarbonization potential of replacing fossil-based resins with the waste-derived polymer was also investigated. The results show that swine manure-to-PLA pathway was the least carbon intensive (−1.4 kgCO2e/kg) among the three waste-to-PLA pathways on a cradle-to-grave basis, followed by the food waste case (−1.3 kgCO2e/kg) and then by the wastewater sludge case (0.6 kgCO2e/kg). In the baseline scenario, all three waste-to-PLA pathways were less carbon intensive than both fossil-based PET and HDPE on a cradle-to-grave basis: 66% (vs. PET) and 56% (vs. HDPE), 171 and 192%, 181 and 205% reduction in GHG emissions for wastewater sludge-, food waste-, and swine manure-to-PLA pathway, respectively. For all sensitivity cases investigated, the food waste- and swine manure-to-PLA pathways were significantly less carbon intensive than their fossil-counterparts. In terms of the annual decarbonization potential of replacing fossil-based PET or HDPE, the wastewater sludge- and food waste-pathway showed higher mitigation potential than the swine manure-pathway: i) 18–28 kilotons CO2e-reduction per year for wastewater sludge pathway; ii) 23–26 kTCO2e-reduction/yr for food waste pathway; and iii) about 5 kTCO2e-reduction/yr for swine manure pathway depending on the type of conventional resin replaced. However, given the abundant availability of the swine manure feedstocks across the United States, the decarbonization potential of swine manure-based pathway can also increase as the plant capacity or the number of plants grow.

Development of a system model to predict flows and performance of regional waste management planning: A case study of England

Significant loss of valuable resources and increasing burdens on landfills are often associated with a lack of proper planning in waste management and resource recovery strategy. A sustainable waste management model is thus urgently needed to improve resource efficiency and divert more waste from landfills. This paper proposes a comprehensive system model using stock-and-flow diagram to examine the current waste management performance and project the future waste generation, treatment and disposal scenarios, using England as a case study. The model comprises three integrated modules to represent household waste generation and collection; waste treatment and disposal; and energy recovery. A detailed mass and energy balance has been established and waste management performance has been evaluated using six upstream and downstream indicators. The base case scenario that assumes constant waste composition shows that waste to landfills can be reduced to less than 10% of the total amount, by 2035. However, it entails greater diversion of waste to energy-from-waste facilities, which is not sustainable and would incur higher capital investment and gate fees. Alternative case scenarios that promote recycling instead of energy recovery result in lower capital investment and gate fees. Complete elimination of the food and organic fraction from the residual waste stream will help meet the 65% recycling target by 2035. In light of the need for achieving a more circular economy in England, enhancing material recovery through reuse and recycling, reducing reliance on energy-from-waste and deploying more advanced waste valorisation technologies should be considered in future policy and planning for waste management.

Food Waste Treatments and the Impact of Composting on Carbon Footprint in Canada

Forty percent of the food generated in Canada is wasted, making it the most significant component of municipal solid waste. Food waste characteristics, such as high moisture and oil content, and variable composition, make it difficult to manage with conventional waste treatment methods. Part of food waste is disposed of in landfills, generating greenhouse gases and significantly increasing the carbon footprint. Various treatment methods such as composting and anaerobic digestion have been employed to treat and manage the remaining waste efficiently. This study provides an overview of the impact of composting as a food waste treatment method in Canada and paves way for the research of the usefulness of composting in addition to other food waste treatment methods such as anaerobic digestion. Average composting data for Canada was used to determine the change in the carbon footprint by the diversion of food waste using CCaLC2 software. It was determined that the overall carbon footprint of 1.38 and 1.33 mega-tons of CO2 was reduced from the composting of food waste in the years 2014 and 2016, which were approximately 18% and 20% of the total footprint of Canada municipal solid waste, respectively. The carbon footprint data collected herein were compared to the data from England, Sweden, and the USA to reveal the high effectiveness of composting in Canada.

65 The Role of Livestock as up-Cyclers of Food by-Products and Waste

Abstract Food waste is a global dilemma with environmental, social and economic consequences. Environmental impacts of wasted food are substantial as it comprises the single largest category of organic matter in municipal landfills. Therefore, redirection of food waste from landfills is necessary to improve global food security and environmental sustainability issues. Livestock, with their capacity to “up-cycle” relatively low-quality feedstuffs into high quality protein, are an essential element of this solution. However, challenges regarding utilization of food waste for livestock production include regulatory restrictions, safety concerns and logistics associated with collection, transport and handling. Moreover, identifying industries with significant loss and waste resources along the supply chain, quantifying availability, and effective communication and coordination are necessary steps for large-scale diversion of food loss and waste to livestock feed. In Canada, Loop Resources is a one-of-a-kind organization that enables food wholesalers, retailers, and producers to divert unsaleable food away from landfill to local food banks and livestock farmers. They are working with retailers to divert 2.5 – 3.5 million kg of food waste/month to over 2500 farms across Canada. However, today’s diversity of by-products and urban setting for much of our food waste requires a diversity of solutions. Producer and processor incentives to recover more food will require investment to improve infrastructure and create market opportunities. Research to facilitate safe incorporation of food waste in animal feed is also a critical step toward changes in policy and regulation. In addition, comprehensive LCA-type assessments will shed light on the environmental benefits of replacing feed grains or forages with by-products or food waste. Finally, a coordinated approach requiring input from producers, food processors, feed suppliers, researchers, policy makers and retailers, is critical for the development of successful strategies for inclusion of food loss and waste in livestock diets.

Developing food waste biorefinery: using optimized inclined thin layer pond to overcome constraints of microalgal biomass production on food waste digestate

Diversion of food waste from landfill through anaerobic digestion is a sustainable form of energy production (biogas) and the waste effluent (digestate) can be utilised as nutrient supply for microalgae cultivation. However, digestate has very high nutrient concentrations and is highly turbid, making it difficult to utilize as a nutrient source with conventional microalgae cultivation systems. Here we compared the efficiencies of a conventional open raceway pond (ORWP) and an improved inclined thin layer photobioreactor (ITLP) for the utilization and treatment of food waste derived digestate by Chlorella sp. The ITLP improved on volumetric and areal productivities by 17 and 3 times over the ORWP, with values of 0.563 and 31.916 g m −2 day −1 respectively. Areal nutrient removal via microalgae biomass were 2359.759 ± 64.75 and 260.815 ± 7.16 mg m −2 day −1 for nitrogen and phosphorous respectively in the ITLP, which are 2.8 times higher than obtained in the ORWP. The ITLP’s superiority stems from its ability to support a much higher average biomass yield of 6.807 g L −1, which was 7 times higher than in the ORWP. Mean irradiance in-situ was higher in the ITLP, irradiance distribution and utilization by the culture in the ITLP was 44% more efficient than in the ORWP. Our results indicate that the ITLP is a far more productive system than conventional raceway ponds. This demonstrates that integration of ITLP microalgae cultivation using digestate has the potential to make digestate management yield net benefit in food waste biorefinery settings.

Influencing Factors on the Community Participation in Food Waste Separation

Solid waste management is one of the environmental issues which contributes to negative externalities such as health hazards, pollution, and global warming. In Malaysia, it is reported that 45% of municipal solid waste is from food waste and household makes up about 65% of food waste. In solid waste management, community participation plays an essential role in ensuring the effective and the success of policies and programs implemented by the government. Therefore, the community is responsible for participating directly in the waste hierarchy, the most preferred action in the waste diversion, which is to separate the amount of food waste at home. In this study, the objectives are to identify the factors influencing the intention of a community to participate in food waste separation in solid waste management in Rantau, Negeri Sembilan. A sample of 377respondents from Rantau households are given a survey regarding the study. The findings of the research indicated that there are significant and positive relationships between all independent variables and dependent variable. Besides, attitude is recognized to be the most significant factor that influenced the intention of the community to participate in food waste separation. Also, the study has shown that there is a high level of the intention of the community to perform food waste separation at home. In conclusion, the research has successfully achieved all the objectives and thus requires the government, local municipal council and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to generate more ideas to encourage the community to practice food waste separation at home based on the identified variables in the study.

Impact of waste management and conversion technologies on cost and carbon footprint - Case studies in rural and urban cities

Bioenergy pathways based on waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies are potential solutions to address two major societal challenges: climate change and a lack of sustainable municipal solid waste (MSW) diversion solutions. This study identifies and addresses the absence of an integrated decision-making framework that includes upstream operations (collection, separation, and delivery) and energy recovery technologies of the MSW supply chain. Modeling tools are developed for each WTE stage and integrated for the first time under a single cost and carbon footprint assessment framework. This framework is validated using two case studies to capture urban and rural characteristics. The first pathway includes gasification and an Internal Combustion Engine, and the second pathway consists of combustion and an Organic Rankine Cycle. The outcomes of this study show that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of the WTE pathways are slightly higher than fossil-based heating. This difference is explained by two factors. First, upstream logistics (often overlooked) are a major contributor to the net GHG emissions (36% in rural cases), and their emissions would offset the potential credits when replacing the current heating systems with the WTE pathways. Secondly, MSW is not entirely carbon neutral, and when the fossil-based carbon is accounted for, WTE pathways show higher GHG emissions for both rural (12–16%) and urban (17–19%) communities, which confirms that the WTE pathways still require more technology optimization and improvement. However, integrated framework revealed that WTE pathways are economically competent to reduce the current heating cost by up to 36% in rural and 25% in urban communities.

Transitioning towards a circular bioeconomy in South Africa: Who are the key players?

The transition towards a circular economy is becoming a priority in many countries globally. However, the circular bioeconomy has received relatively less attention. In South Africa, the valorisation of organic waste is a priority area as demonstrated by national goals to divert organic waste from landfill. To support the growth of the organic waste value chain it is important to gain an understanding of the different value chain actors and their activities. Through a series of semi-structured interviews across the industry, this paper unpacks the organic waste value chain including the roles of different actors and the interlinkages amongst them. Interviewed actors were those involved in the waste treatment sector, including consultants, composters and technology providers and installers. The value chain is characterised by a number of partnerships, including sub-contracting and outsourcing, which enable value chain actors to offer services that they do not necessarily have the in-house skills or capacity to deliver on their own. The majority of actors were not directly engaged in activities related to the treatment of waste, with many of them engaging in support activities to facilitate the treatment of waste. This finding may be attributed to the fact that support activities have relatively lower barriers to entry. This has the potential to create a bottleneck, in which there will be limited capacity for waste treatment as new entrants opt for engaging in support activities. Greater investment is needed from both private and public sources in the waste treatment sector, including support for new entrants. This investment will help enable the country to meet its goals for organic waste diversion whilst contributing to job creation.Significance: The majority of participants in the organic waste value chain were engaged in support activities. The organic waste value chain is characterised by a series of partnerships. Greater investment is needed for the development of waste treatment facilities.

Evaluation of a sustainable student-led initiative on a college campus addressing food waste and food insecurity

Food waste and food insecurity present a troubling paradox found across the globe, in local communi­ties, and on college campuses. The Campus Kitch­en at the University of Kentucky (CK) is a student-led, sustainability-focused service organiza­tion in the Feeding America Network that can serve as a local food waste checkpoint in the south­east region of the United States and address com­munity and campus food insecurity through com­munity-build­ing activities. Farm-to-Fork (F2F), a free weekly meal and education program of CK, provides a case study of leveraging existing resources like student volunteers, CK infrastruc­ture, and campus partners to address college food insecurity. In this case study, we evaluate the pilot model of CK and its F2F Program. The data gath­ered consist of the amount of food recovered, the number of meals prepared and distributed, and demographics and behavioral perceptions of col­lege students attend­ing F2F. From August 2018 to December 2019, CK food recovery and meal data were collected and an F2F cross-sectional student survey (N=284) was administered twice. The pro­gram develop­ment, implementation, and evaluation of F2F relies on the social -ecological model (SEM) to capture and highlight the complicated issues of food waste and food insecurity, and the layered approach any initiative addressing such issues must take. Ulti­mately, F2F highlights how programs such as CK can expand their missions of reducing food waste and food insecurity in communities and on college campuses. CK’s economically and envi­ronmentally sustainable practices can be built upon to improve the diversion of food waste and use socially inclu­sive approaches to provide healthy meals and resources to populations experiencing challenges with food insecurity, both on and off campus, as well as educate all those involved. In turn, such an initiative highlights the need to move beyond stopgap measures, such as food pantries, in both community and campus programs targeting food waste and food insecurity.

Explanations of the political gridlock behind international circular economy: Waste Ban narratives in the China-EU cooperation

China and the European Union (EU) signed the first international circular economy (CE) agreement shortly after China issued the ‘Waste Ban’ (WB) on the import of 24 categories of solid waste. While the WB gained global attention, limited research addresses its political implications for international CE. Based on 72 expert interviews, 52 documents and participant observation, we study political WB narratives and corresponding perceptions of ‘Chinese’ and ‘European’ agency in the China-EU case. Our results show a political gridlock in China-EU CE coordination: the main narratives on the WB diverge on the very roles and rules of CE cooperation, scales of implementation, and the assessment criteria for environmentally and socially sustainable CE(s). To enable fruitful CE cooperation, we suggest three critical points for reflection and negotiation: (1) overcome ‘student–teacher’ roles rooted in linear development that run counter to CE ideas; (2) reconsider the focus on international and national waste diversion, instead of local waste prevention, that propels global waste markets sustained by increasing waste volumes; and (3) evaluate both the benefits and impediments of (new) trade relations for a CE cooperation that contributes to environmental and social sustainability.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Using Post-Kerbside Organics Treatment Systems to Engage Australian Communities with Pro-Environmental Household Food Waste Behaviours

Dealing with the wicked problem of global food waste and loss is a complex and challenging area. In Australia, increased political will has landed the diversion of domestic food waste from landfill squarely at the feet of local government (councils), often requiring significant change to kerbside collections systems. This paper discusses how post-kerbside household food waste treatment systems can encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this, current food waste literature is examined against kerbside domestic waste collection measurable outcomes (diversion rates, system uptake and contamination rates). The hypothesis is that specific interventions can establish, or rebuild, community trust, responsibility and pro-environmental behaviours around food waste avoidance and diversion. Two post-kerbside systems—commercial composting and anaerobic digestion—provided the framework. Two themes emerged from the study: (1) the benefits of connecting the community with the interactions of household food waste inputs with post-treatment outputs (compost, soil conditioners, digestates and biogases); and (2) providing engaged communities with pathways for sustainable, pro-environmental actions whilst normalizing correct kerbside food waste recycling for the less engaged (habitual behaviours, knowledge and cooperation). The paper contributes to understanding how councils can connect their communities with the issues of household food waste.

Carbon Reductions in a Leading Real Estate Corporation: A Case Study of British Land Company Proprietary

Carbon management is critical in a world of growing corporate emissions that are contributing to substantial environmental degradation. The real estate industry has a significant impact on the climatic crisis, contributing to 40% of greenhouse gas emissions produced from the development and use of buildings. The British Land Company has allocated significant resources into reducing the carbon intensity of its assets and general activities. British Land is unique in producing a sustainability goal that includes unique carbon levies to finance retrofitting of its assets and to improve its overall sustainability. British Land’s assets (retail, residential and office) produce an average of 933 kg CO2e/sqm, with total emissions of 242,291 tonnes of CO2 during the 2020 financial year. British Land has also integrated a variety of sustainable interventions, including sourcing renewable energy, diversion of waste from landfill, designing out fossil fuels, building with low-carbon materials, recycling and others. This has resulted in a 19% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between the 2020 and 2021 financial years. Without defining these practices and British Land’s quantified contributions to reducing carbon intensity, it is difficult to complete a rigorous assessment of the emissions profile of British Land. However, it is clear that it is making great progress towards aligning with the Paris Agreement 2030 targets but must be more purposeful in its management reporting.

Tiles from Recycled Plastic Bottle (Pet) Wastes and POFA: Strength Properties and Durability

Plastic waste management is a global problem that threatens the health of our planet due to its high rate of development and non-biodegradability. Also, palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is a residue produced when waste products including palm oil fiber, palm kernel shells, and palm oil hush are burned. This study investigates the feasibility of making tiles out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste bottles and POFA (Palm oil fuel ash). This study reports on the mechanical properties, durability, and chemical tolerance of PET-wall tiles. PET waste was used in different amounts with POFA by weight (from 30% to 100%). The physical and mechanical characteristics of the tiles were examined, and it was discovered that, in terms of material density and strength, tiles containing 30% PET, have highest compressive strength of 8.37 N/mm² while samples made with higher PET content (100%) have the least compressive strength lowest water absorption value (0.12%). All the tiles produced outperformed pure cement and ceramic tiles in terms of durability, and they have a very low water absorption efficiency; the water absorption values were between 1.82% and 0.12% and good chemical tolerance. In conclusion, based on this experimental result, PET waste bottles and POFA can be used to produce long-lasting, good strength, and highly low-water-absorption eco-friendly wall tiles for both residential and commercial applications. This possibility of producing tiles from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste and POFA would not only reduce the cost of construction materials but also serve as a waste diversion to reduce environmental pollution generated by plastic waste.