Assessment of Suitability of Plastic Waste in Bituminous Pavement Construction

Abstract

The use of plastic products is on the increase daily. The disposal of plastic wastes is a problem in many developing countries like Ghana. These are non-biodegradable products that pose environmental pollution problems to mankind. If these materials can be suitably utilized in road construction, the pollution and disposal problems may be partly reduced.  In recent years, applications of plastic wastes have been considered in road construction with great interest in many developing countries. These plastic wastes are compatible with bitumen at specified conditions. This research aims at determining the suitability of using waste plastic materials as modifiers in bituminous road pavement construction. The waste polymer-bitumen blend was prepared in various proportions and the rheological properties determined in the laboratory. The results indicate that the properties of polymer-modified AC-10 viscosity graded bitumen were enhanced with better binding properties, and can be used in asphalt concrete pavement construction with improved quality and savings.

Keywords: Non-Biodegradable, Plastic Waste, Polymer-modified, viscosity graded.