Use of Biomedical Plastic Waste in Bituminous Road Construction
Bhageerathy K. P1, Anu P. Alex2, Manju V. S3, Raji A. K4
1Bhageerathy K. P,  M. Tech Student, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
2Anu P. Alex,  Asst. Prof, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
3Dr. Manju V. S,  Assoc. Prof, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
4Dr. Raji A. K,  Prof, Department of Civil Engineering, N.S.S College of Engineering, Palakkad, Kerala, India.
Manuscript received on July 24, 2014. | Revised Manuscript received on August 09, 2014. | Manuscript published on August 30, 2014. | PP: 89-92  | Volume-3 Issue-6, August 2014.  | Retrieval Number:  F3310083614/2013©BEIESP

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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: The quantum of plastic in solid waste is increasing due to increase in population, urbanization, development activities and changes in life style which is leading to widespread littering on the landscape. The disposal of waste plastic has thus become a serious problem globally due to their non-biodegradability. The deteriorating quality of roads is another area of concern as the present roads are not able to withstand the increasing traffic and also are less resistant to adverse weather conditions. Research is being carried out to develop suitable alternatives to the conventional road construction materials. In this work, the use of autoclaved medical plastic waste in the form of shredded syringes in road construction is tested. The main objective of the study was to investigate the performance of the bituminous mix modified with bio-medical plastic waste and to compare it with the normal mix. Medical plastic waste was collected from IMAGE (Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly), Palakkad, Kerala, India. As part of the study, the properties of Plastic Coated Aggregates (PCA) were determined. The results showed improved properties for PCA when compared to normal aggregates. The properties of both the mixes were tested by conducting creep test and indirect tensile stiffness modulus test.
Keywords: Autoclaved medical plastic, Plastic Coated Aggregates, Creep test, Indirect tensile stiffness modulus test.