The Use of Shredded Plastic Water Bottles in Soil Stabilization

Abstract

Please Soil stabilization is a mechanical or chemical procedure to improve the physical properties of weak soil. In this research, a mechanical process of using shredded plastic water bottles has been investigated in soil stabilization. To achieve the objective of this research, two types of clayey soils have been selected based on their plastic indices. The initial mechanical properties of the two soils have been determined using ASTM standard procedures. A plastic water battles were shredded into small pieces with dimension 1.0 cm in length and 2.0 – 3.0 mm in width. The shredded plastic was added to the clayey soil at 6 different percentages by dry weight of the soils 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, and 3.0% with 0.5 increment. Standard compaction and unconfined compression test were conducted on soil plastic mixtures at the 6 different percentages. It was found that the addition of shredded plastic to the clayey soils reduced both the maximum dry density and optimum moisture content for the two types of soils. However, a significant increase in unconfined compression test was noticed due to the addition of shredded plastic waste. The highest increase was noticed at 1.5% by dry weight of the soil. Additionally, the failure strain was decreased due to the addition of the plastic waste.