Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Recycling of Plastic Waste in the Construction Industry

This review examines the use of recycled plastic waste in construction applications including concrete, asphalt, insulation, and structural composites, assessing the performance, durability, and environmental benefits of incorporating waste plastics into building materials to reduce landfill disposal.

2025 Polymers 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling/reuse of plastic waste as construction material for sustainable development: a review

Researchers reviewed how waste plastic can be incorporated into construction materials — as binders, aggregates, or cement substitutes in bricks, tiles, concrete, and roads — finding that plastic-modified materials often show competitive strength properties while simultaneously diverting plastic waste from landfills.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 264 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential use of PET and PP as partial replacement of sand in structural concrete

Researchers tested whether PET and polypropylene plastic waste could partially replace sand in structural concrete, evaluating the physical and mechanical properties of the resulting material. Using post-consumer plastic in construction is one strategy for diverting plastic from the waste stream and preventing it from breaking down into environmental microplastics.

2021 Matéria (Rio de Janeiro) 5 citations
Article Tier 2

A Survey on Use of Non-Recyclable Waste in Construction

This survey reviews strategies for incorporating non-recyclable plastic waste into construction materials, documenting the environmental threat posed by plastic waste in marine ecosystems and its effects on wildlife and human health. The authors conclude that using plastic waste as a component in cementitious composites offers the most promising avenue for improving environmental sustainability while providing a practical construction material.

2022 International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology
Article Tier 2

An Analysis of the State-of-the-art in Plastic Scrap Recycling Strategies for Construction Components

This review examines strategies for recycling plastic waste in construction applications, covering methods to convert plastic scraps into building components and discussing barriers including contamination, mixed polymer streams, and regulatory restrictions on plastic use in structural applications.

2025
Article Tier 2

Investigating the Use of Post-Consumer LDPE Waste and Stone Dust in Sustainable Concrete Composites

Researchers incorporated post-consumer LDPE plastic waste and stone dust into concrete mixes and found that these additions can maintain acceptable mechanical properties. Reusing plastic waste in construction materials diverts plastics from landfills and reduces their potential to fragment into environmental microplastics.

2023 Applied Research and Innovation 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Societal impact of recycling waste into composite materials

This review examines how recycling various types of waste, including plastics, into composite materials can reduce environmental pollution and support a circular economy. Researchers surveyed methods for transforming plastic waste, agricultural residues, and industrial byproducts into useful construction and engineering materials. The study highlights that waste-derived composites can offer comparable performance to conventional materials while significantly reducing the environmental footprint of waste disposal.

2024 Societal Impacts 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Valorization of Plastic Waste through Incorporation into Construction Materials

This review of 60 studies examines how plastic waste is being incorporated into construction materials — including concrete, asphalt, and bricks — as a sustainable valorization strategy, finding that recycled plastics can improve certain material properties while diverting waste from landfills.

2022 Civil and Sustainable Urban Engineering 21 citations
Review Tier 2

Potential Applications of Different Forms of Recycled Plastics as Construction Materials—A Review

This review examined potential applications of different forms of recycled plastics (granules, powder, fiber, aggregate) as construction materials, identifying suitable recycling methodologies and construction products with performance benefits such as improved toughness and reduced weight.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Feasibility Study of the Use of Concrete Blocks Produced From Plastic Marine Garbage for Use in Civil Construction

Researchers investigated the feasibility of producing concrete blocks incorporating plastic waste collected from marine and coastal environments, testing blocks with varying proportions of recycled plastic as a partial aggregate replacement in civil construction applications. The study assessed the mechanical and physical properties of the resulting composite blocks, evaluating whether marine plastic garbage could be valorized as a construction material while reducing environmental plastic loads.

2022
Systematic Review Tier 1

Systematic Review of Plastic Waste as Eco-Friendly Aggregate for Sustainable Construction

This systematic review examines how recycled plastic waste can be used as a substitute for traditional aggregates in concrete and construction materials. Using plastic waste in construction could divert it from landfills and waterways where it breaks down into microplastics. The review evaluates the structural performance and environmental benefits of incorporating plastic into building materials.

2022 International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering Technology 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review of the current progress of plastic waste recycling technology in structural materials

Researchers reviewed technologies for recycling plastic waste into construction materials such as concrete and asphalt, finding this approach can meaningfully reduce the environmental burden of plastic pollution. Incorporating plastic waste into building materials offers a practical path toward both waste reduction and more sustainable construction.

2023 Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 210 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycled Mixed Plastic Fine Aggregate in Cement Concrete

Cement concrete mixtures incorporating mixed post-consumer recycled plastic as fine aggregate were characterized, finding that an optimized blend of polymer types produced workable concrete with mechanical properties suitable for construction applications.

2024 Springer Proceedings in Materials
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Plastic-Infused Concrete Bricks and Their Suitability for Interlocking: Mechanical, Durability, and Environmental Perspectives

Researchers tested plastic-infused concrete bricks as a way to repurpose plastic waste in construction materials, evaluating their mechanical strength and suitability for different building applications. The study explores whether incorporating plastic waste into durable materials can reduce the plastic entering the environment as microplastics.

2025 European Journal of Innovative Studies and Sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Circular economy model for reuse of plastic in eco-efficient production of building materials

This study explored using plastic waste in the production of construction blocks and bricks as part of a circular economy approach, reducing the amount of plastic that enters the environment as microplastics. The construction sector offers a significant opportunity to valorize plastic waste as a durable material rather than allowing it to degrade in landfills.

2023 Journal of business and entrepreneurial studie 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental Tests on Lightweight Cement Mortar and Concrete with Recycled Plastic Wastes

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it tests the mechanical properties of cement mortar and concrete incorporating recycled plastic waste granules as aggregate substitutes, a construction materials engineering study.

2023 Buildings 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Composites from Post-Consumer Polypropylene and Oilseed Pomace Fillers

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it characterizes wood-plastic composites made from recycled polypropylene and agricultural pomace fillers, evaluating mechanical properties for construction applications rather than addressing plastic pollution.

2024 Polymers 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Utilization of Plastic Waste in Road Paver Blocks as a Construction Material

Researchers evaluated the use of recycled plastic waste in road paver blocks in India, finding that incorporating recycled plastic improved block strength and weather resistance compared to conventional materials, offering a construction application for plastic waste.

2023 CivilEng 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanical and Microstructural Investigation of Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Recycled Waste Plastic Aggregate

This study investigated incorporating recycled waste plastic aggregate into geopolymer concrete, finding that it can produce structurally viable construction materials while diverting plastic waste from landfill and reducing reliance on virgin aggregates.

2024 Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Utilization of Plastic Waste in Concrete Pavement

Researchers investigated the use of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste as an aggregate in concrete pavement mix designs, finding that incorporation of HDPE improved mechanical performance and durability while reducing landfill waste and energy consumption in the concrete sector.

2025 Processes
Article Tier 2

A Step towards Sustainable Concrete with Substitution of Plastic Waste in Concrete: Overview on Mechanical, Durability and Microstructure Analysis

This review evaluates the use of plastic waste as a substitute material in concrete, analyzing its effects on mechanical strength, durability, and microstructure to assess its viability as a sustainable construction approach.

2022 Crystals 174 citations
Article Tier 2

The Holistic Approach of Plastic Waste Recycling for Sustainable Development

This review examines how plastic waste can be incorporated into construction materials including bricks, tiles, concrete, and roads as a binder, aggregate, or modifier. The authors find that using plastic waste in construction reduces landfill burden and dependence on mined resources, though performance effects vary by application.

2023 International Journal of Energy and Environmental Science
Systematic Review Tier 1

Marine Plastic Waste in Construction: A Systematic Review of Applications in the Built Environment

This systematic review evaluates how recycled marine plastic waste can be used in construction materials like concrete, asphalt, bricks, and insulation. Reusing ocean plastics in buildings could help reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the environment. While performance varies, this approach offers a promising way to address marine plastic waste while creating useful building materials.

2025 Polymers 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate as Aggregate Replacement on Mechanical and Ecotoxicological Properties of Mortar

Researchers tested mortar made with recycled PET plastic replacing some of the natural aggregate and found that it maintained comparable compressive strength while passing ecotoxicity tests with plants. The study suggests that incorporating recycled plastic waste into construction materials could be a viable way to reduce plastic in landfills without creating significant environmental harm.

2025 Recycling 3 citations