Recycling plastic wastes in order to obtain new building materials

This paper presents the development of new types of construction materials using plastic waste. According to the European Court, plastic waste from various sectors such as the automotive, electronics, agriculture and construction sectors is a growing problem and is damaging to both terrestrial and marine media. Thus, every year, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastics reach the oceans. According to most of the research studies, plastic wastes have the potential to replace the natural aggregate at specific percentages. This paper proposes the reuse of this waste as reinforcement in masonry mortars, using plastic waste in various proportions. The experimental program follows the characteristics of masonry mortars both in terms of the behaviour of fresh mortar and in terms of mechanical strength. The results obtained showed a better performance of mortars reinforced with plastic strips, both in terms of flexural strength and compressive strength.