From Refuse to Resource: E-Plastic as Building Material

The pursuit of the sustainable development goal of responsible consumption and production requires innovative multi-disciplinary approaches. These goals are achieved in the present work with the use of granulated plastic made from waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) panels as a substitute for sand in the production of concrete mixtures. The optimal amount of plastic added, curing time, and water-cement ratio were determined experimentally. Data show that a theoretical compressive strength of 17.68 MPa was achieved using a water-cement ratio of 0.45, 6% sand replacement and 19 days curing time. While this strength is already suitable for general construction purposes, this represents a 13.54-percent deterioration compared with conventional concrete. Thus, enhancement was done with the addition of arrowroot powder as organic admixture which improved the compressive strength to a level comparable to conventional concrete. These results reveal that E-plastics are technically viable process inputs in the production of building materials and provide a sustainable strategy for responsible consumption and production.