Experimental Investigation of Making a Composite Material from Plastic (LDPE) Waste

Abstract

Plastic waste has been a major issue regarding waste in the world today. Plastic production in the world has reached 8300 million metric tons (Mt) from 1950 to 2015 and of about 6,300 Mt turned into waste. The development of industry and technology is often accompanied by the emergence of environmental impact issue. Encompassed plastic waste in nature causes problems, as it can drift from the land and fill the oceans around the world. Various plastic waste processing technologies have been introduced. Recycling plastic waste into goods, fuel oils and asphalt mixtures are things that have been done enormously. This research aims to make composite materials from used plastics, clay materials, and charcoal. A qualitative experimental method by heating the plastic waste below 270°C. Then, it is mixed with additional materials and casted the composite into a mold to form test specimens. Mechanical testing has been carried out to evaluate the composite. The results show that a composite material comprises plastic waste, clay and charcoal can provide maximum tensile strength of 14.59 N. The tested composite material is found to be 34.20% stronger than the material made of only plastic waste.