Properties at room temperature of concrete containing 1, 3 and 5% of plastic wastes as partial substitute of Sand

This work investigates at room temperature the evolution of concrete properties containing 1, 3, and 5% plastic waste as partial substitute of sand. This research proposes a new material for civil engineering that addresses the challenges of plastic waste management while meeting the strength and cost-effectiveness requirements of natural materials. To this end, literature reviews were conducted and laboratory experiments were performed. These experiments involved adding polymers derived from plastic waste to concrete as a sand substitute at varying proportions (1, 3, and 5%) of the aggregates (sand and gravel) dry mass. The resulting concrete mixes were subjected to tensile and compressive tests to determine their strength. A comparative study was then conducted between the concrete containing plastic waste and samples of conventional concrete as reference, all cured at room temperature at different curing ages.