Fabrication and characterization of plastic tiles from plastic wastes in Bangladesh Available to Purchase

Plastic is a major hazardous problem for any biosphere. Presently, the use of plastic has been remarkably increased and hence, the necessity arises to reduce the usage of these materials. Properties of plastic materials make its disposal process difficult and complex though it is one of the widely used man-made materials due to its few specific characteristics such as easy manufacturing and shaping, cheaper cost and low density. Unfortunately, after the use, these are thrown in nature. Their accumulation poses a serious environmental problem as it is non-biodegradable. The utilization of waste plastic in manufacturing another useable product is a major solution to reduce waste plastic incineration or landfill. The production process includes cleaning and shredding plastic wastes, mixing with other agents, pouring into mold, shaping of mold, melting in furnace, compressing the mold and drying up of the mold to get the final product. This paper focuses on making plastic tiles from various types of plastic wastes. The composite tiles have been designated as footpath tiles having a size of 0.3048 m (length) x 0.254 m (width) x 0.0203 m (height). Several experimental tests were conducted on the produced Samples of plastic tiles (Sample 1 consisting of 75% sand with 25% plastic, Sample 2 consisting of 65% sand with 35% plastic and Sample 3 consisting of 70% sand with 30% plastic) such as compressive strength, the breaking load by flexural strength, impact load, moisture content test. A set of satisfactory results gives an option to use such samples for using as footpath tiles in Bangladesh as an alternative to the conventional ceramic tiles available in the markets.