Trash into Treasure: Value-Added composites from waste plastic packaging and carbon nanotubes

This work explores the use of low-value packaging film-based waste mixed plastics (wMP) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) to produce value-added composites. The performance of the composites is assessed through mechanical testing, UV ageing, and electrical conductivity. Reinforcing wMP with 5 wt% CNT increased the tensile strength and tensile modulus by 46% and 23% respectively. There were similar increases in flexural modulus (53%), compressive strength (131%), and compressive modulus (89%) compared to unreinforced wMP. UV ageing had no measurable effect on unreinforced wMP but decreased the flexural modulus of wMP/5wt% CNT by 23%. An average electrical conductivity of 1.65 × 10 -2 S/m was measured for wMP/CNT, with unreinforced wMP showing no measurable electrical conductivity, as expected. This research provides valuable scientific insights into the application of mixed waste plastics in composites, aiding the creation of a more circular economy for plastic waste and leading to second-generation products with a wide range of potential applications.