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Alternative Waste Characterization and Its Functional Reuse in Cement-Based Composites
Summary
Researchers found that during COVID-19, people threw away more face masks and consumed more tea, so they tested mixing these waste materials into cement to make building materials. Adding small amounts of masks and tea waste to cement can help reduce waste while still making strong enough construction materials. This approach could help solve the growing problem of pandemic-related waste while creating useful building supplies.
Understanding the composition and amount of waste is crucial for the health and development of communities. Panic and the unpredictable situation of COVID-19 caused significant demands for food, which resulted in high pressure on food waste and waste management systems. To determine the change in waste composition in Northern Cyprus during the COVID-19 pandemic, questionnaires were prepared and distributed through the media and via email. This study found that household waste generation per capita was 0.91 kg with a 6% error when compared with a conventional waste composition study performed by the European Union in 2016. According to the results, the quantity of domestic waste decreased during the pandemic, while garden waste increased. Additionally, the results show that 27% of plastic waste came from cleaning purposes. As face mask usage and tea consumption increased during the pandemic, these materials were incorporated as additives into marble-dust-modified cement paste to develop sustainable construction composite. The mechanical performance of the proposed material was evaluated by measuring the flexural and compressive strengths of specimens cured for 7, 28, and 56 days. Eco-efficiency metrics derived directly from mechanical data provided strong environmental engineering insight. When assessed per unit of compressive function, cement intensity increased with mask dosage, indicating reduced binder efficiency despite batch-level cement savings. Furthermore, waste diversion per unit strength increased with mask content, but progressively larger compressive penalties accompanied this benefit. Within this trade-off, low to intermediate mask dosages offered the most validified balance between waste diversion and mechanical performance.