Polymeric materials of secondary industry in bridge engineering

The article discusses the impact of plastic waste on the environment, disposal methods, and the problems of isolation from the total waste amount. The technology of its recycling is described, as well as the properties of the materials obtained, pros and cons relative to analogs from traditional materials (concrete, steel, and wood), the foreign experience of its use in bridge engineering (construction of new bridges, reconstruction of old bridge structures). The article also analyzes the economic component of construction using building materials from plastic waste and its impact on the environment. A comparison is made of materials from primary polymers and secondary industry polymeric materials. It is shown how things are with plastic waste recycling abroad and in Russia, and what systems are being developed to improve and optimize the recycling process. The purpose of the article is to point out that humanity needs to reconsider its view of the environmental situation in the world, due to environmental pollution with plastic waste, and to show that there is a way to solve this problem and it is recycling plastic waste. This option of recycling plastic waste will allow us to clean our planet from accumulations of plastic waste (which is formed both on land and in the ocean, adversely affecting flora and fauna) and create competitive, reliable building materials and products that will speed up the process of building bridge structures, facilitate and make more economical the operation of bridges in the future.