Recycling of Polyethylene into Strong and Tough Earth-Based Composite Building Materials

Abstract

Polyethylene (PE) waste often piles up in the environment for up to 30 to 50 years, without complete degradation. This paper describes how PE waste can be used as a reinforcement in laterite bricks for sustainable building materials. The bricks are produced with different volume percentages (0–30 vol. %) of PE. The flexural/compressive strengths and fracture toughness values of the composite blocks are compared with those of mortar (produced from river sand and cement). The composite containing 20 vol. % of PE is shown to have the best combination of flexural/compressive strength and fracture toughness. The flexural/compressive strengths and fracture toughness values increase with increasing volume percentage of PE up to 20 vol. %, before decreasing to minimum values for composites with 30 vol. % of PE. The trends in the measured strengths and fracture toughness values are explained using composite and crack bridging models.