The effect of plastic polythene grocery bags solid waste on geotechnical properties of lateritic gravel soil.
Abstract
The study investigated the impact of polythene plastic grocery bag strips on the geotechnical
properties of lateritic gravel soil. A series of laboratory tests were conducted, including sieve
analysis, Atterberg limits, maximum dry density, California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and shear
tests. These tests were performed on both uncontaminated soil samples (control samples) and
contaminated soil samples mixed with polythene plastic strips.
The research examined various percentages of polythene plastic waste strips, specifically 1%,
1.2%, and 1.4% by weight of the soil. Additionally, the study varied the dimensions of the
polythene grocery plastic waste strips, with sizes of 6x15 mm , 1.2x2.5cm, and 18x35 mm .
The test results revealed that the CBR value of the soil increased as the dimensions and
percentages of the plastic strips increased. Notably, the CBR value exhibited a significant
increase when using polythene plastic waste strips with dimensions of 18x35 mm and a
percentage of 1.4% by weight of the soil. Moreover, the shear strength of the soil increased
with the dimensions of the strips. The shear strength showed an upward trend with the
percentages of polythene grocery bags waste strips from 1% to 1.2%, but decreased when
using 1.4% plastic waste strips for all strip dimensions.