The increased demand for housing in the country and the continued strive for the government
to provide affordable housing to citizens have influenced the need to cut cost of construction.
Materials being the major contributor to the cost of construction have been the main focus and
research on alternative construction materials has been ongoing.
There has been also increased pollution on the environment by the non bio degradable
plastics. Finding an alternative use for the waste plastics has been a major investment by
private companies and governments.
In an attempt to tackle these two challenges, this project report focuses on the research of use
of waste plastic as binder to make plastic/aggregates blocks which can act as alternative
construction materials.
In this research three percentages of plastics composition were used i.e. 15%,20%,25% to
make samples used to test for the mechanical and strength properties of the mixture. The
material was tested for its compressive strength, flexural strength, density test and water
absorption test. The properties were first compared to determine the effects of the different
plastic composition and also compared to the local alternative materials such as burnt clay,
concrete blocks and stone blocks.
It was found that an increase in plastic composition improved the properties of the materials.
The compressive strength improved from 1.37 N/mm² for the 15% composition to 1.97
N/mm²for the 25% composition.
Density reduced from 1.95 g/cm³ for the 15% composition to 1.85 g/cm³ for the 25% plastic
composition. The water absorption reduced from 1.02 % for the 15% plastic composition to
0.72% for the 25% plastic composition. The flexural strength increased from 0.16 N/mm² for
the 15% plastic composition to 0.24 N/mm² for the 25% plastic composition.
The results were compared to the set building standards and to the British standards regarding
material strength requirements as discussed.

The increased demand for housing in the country and the continued strive for the government
to provide affordable housing to citizens have influenced the need to cut cost of construction.
Materials being the major contributor to the cost of construction have been the main focus and
research on alternative construction materials has been ongoing.
There has been also increased pollution on the environment by the non bio degradable
plastics. Finding an alternative use for the waste plastics has been a major investment by
private companies and governments.
In an attempt to tackle these two challenges, this project report focuses on the research of use
of waste plastic as binder to make plastic/aggregates blocks which can act as alternative
construction materials.
In this research three percentages of plastics composition were used i.e. 15%,20%,25% to
make samples used to test for the mechanical and strength properties of the mixture. The
material was tested for its compressive strength, flexural strength, density test and water
absorption test. The properties were first compared to determine the effects of the different
plastic composition and also compared to the local alternative materials such as burnt clay,
concrete blocks and stone blocks.
It was found that an increase in plastic composition improved the properties of the materials.
The compressive strength improved from 1.37 N/mm² for the 15% composition to 1.97
N/mm²for the 25% composition.
Density reduced from 1.95 g/cm³ for the 15% composition to 1.85 g/cm³ for the 25% plastic
composition. The water absorption reduced from 1.02 % for the 15% plastic composition to
0.72% for the 25% plastic composition. The flexural strength increased from 0.16 N/mm² for
the 15% plastic composition to 0.24 N/mm² for the 25% plastic composition.
The results were compared to the set building standards and to the British standards regarding
material strength requirements as discussed.
The increased demand for housing in the country and the continued strive for the government
to provide affordable housing to citizens have influenced the need to cut cost of construction.
Materials being the major contributor to the cost of construction have been the main focus and
research on alternative construction materials has been ongoing.
There has been also increased pollution on the environment by the non bio degradable
plastics. Finding an alternative use for the waste plastics has been a major investment by
private companies and governments.
In an attempt to tackle these two challenges, this project report focuses on the research of use
of waste plastic as binder to make plastic/aggregates blocks which can act as alternative
construction materials.
In this research three percentages of plastics composition were used i.e. 15%,20%,25% to
make samples used to test for the mechanical and strength properties of the mixture. The
material was tested for its compressive strength, flexural strength, density test and water
absorption test. The properties were first compared to determine the effects of the different
plastic composition and also compared to the local alternative materials such as burnt clay,
concrete blocks and stone blocks.
It was found that an increase in plastic composition improved the properties of the materials.
The compressive strength improved from 1.37 N/mm² for the 15% composition to 1.97
N/mm²for the 25% composition.
Density reduced from 1.95 g/cm³ for the 15% composition to 1.85 g/cm³ for the 25% plastic
composition. The water absorption reduced from 1.02 % for the 15% plastic composition to
0.72% for the 25% plastic composition. The flexural strength increased from 0.16 N/mm² for
the 15% plastic composition to 0.24 N/mm² for the 25% plastic composition.
The results were compared to the set building standards and to the British standards regarding
material strength requirements as discussed.

The increased demand for housing in the country and the continued strive for the government
to provide affordable housing to citizens have influenced the need to cut cost of construction.
Materials being the major contributor to the cost of construction have been the main focus and
research on alternative construction materials has been ongoing.
There has been also increased pollution on the environment by the non bio degradable
plastics. Finding an alternative use for the waste plastics has been a major investment by
private companies and governments.
In an attempt to tackle these two challenges, this project report focuses on the research of use
of waste plastic as binder to make plastic/aggregates blocks which can act as alternative
construction materials.
In this research three percentages of plastics composition were used i.e. 15%,20%,25% to
make samples used to test for the mechanical and strength properties of the mixture. The
material was tested for its compressive strength, flexural strength, density test and water
absorption test. The properties were first compared to determine the effects of the different
plastic composition and also compared to the local alternative materials such as burnt clay,
concrete blocks and stone blocks.
It was found that an increase in plastic composition improved the properties of the materials.
The compressive strength improved from 1.37 N/mm² for the 15% composition to 1.97
N/mm²for the 25% composition.
Density reduced from 1.95 g/cm³ for the 15% composition to 1.85 g/cm³ for the 25% plastic
composition. The water absorption reduced from 1.02 % for the 15% plastic composition to
0.72% for the 25% plastic composition. The flexural strength increased from 0.16 N/mm² for
the 15% plastic composition to 0.24 N/mm² for the 25% plastic composition.
The results were compared to the set building standards and to the British standards regarding
material strength requirements as discussed.