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SOIL STABILIZATION USING

PLASTIC WASTE
shashank mn

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IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

SOIL STABILIZATION USING PLASTIC WASTE

V. Mallikarjuna1, T. Bindu Mani2

1
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada – 520 007,
Andhra Pradesh, India.
malli.bharghava@gmail.com
2
Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada – 520 007,
Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract
Soil is the key element of this nature and all the basic needs of life such as food, house and cloths are fulfilled by the soil. Black
Cotton soils with high potential for swelling and shrinking as a result of change in moisture content are one of the major soil
deposits of India. Soil stabilization is the process which improves the physical properties of soil, such as shear strength, bearing
capacity which can be done by use of controlled compaction or addition of suitable admixtures like cement, lime, sand, fly ash or
by providing geo textiles, geo synthetics etc. The new technique of soil stabilization can be effectively used to meet the challenges
of society, to reduce the quantities of waste, producing useful material from non-useful waste materials. Since the use of plastic in
diversified forms such as chairs, bottles, polythene bags, etc., has been advancing speedily and its disposal has been a problem all
the time regarding the environmental concern, using plastic as soil stabilizer would reduce the problem of disposing the plastic as
well as increases the density and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of soil in an economical way. The present study is focused to
overcome the problems experienced in Amaravathi, the capital of newly formed Andhra Pradesh State. In the present study, an
experimental program was conducted for stabilization of Black Cotton Soils in the Capital Region i.e., Amaravathi of newly
formed Andhra Pradesh, with the utilization of Plastic waste as soil stabilizer. Different contents of plastic strips (% by weight
varying from 0% to 8%) are added to the Black Cotton Soil and the optimum percentage of plastic strips in soil was found out by
conducting California Bearing Ratio Test.

Keywords: Amaravathi, Andhra Pradesh, Black Cotton Soil, California Bearing Ratio, Plastic, Soil And Stabilization.
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1. INTRODUCTION In the present situation, Stabilizing of soils is of utmost

importance in Amaravathi region which makes them
Soil deposits in nature exist in an extremely erratic manner
suitable for various construction activities. Various materials
producing thereby an infinite variety of possible
and methods may be used for stabilizing soils and are
combination which will affect the strength of the soil and
presented below.
the procedures to make it purposeful.

Major soil deposits in the capital Region (Amaravathi) of 1.1 Methods of Soil Stabilization
newly formed Andhra Pradesh are Black Cotton Soils which There are different materials in utilization for the
are very fertile and suitable for agriculture but not good for stabilization of black cotton soils. Depending on the internal
construction of Civil Engineering Structures because of its factor which describes the bonding between the soil and the
low Bearing Capacity and intensive shrink-swell process stabilizer utilized, the methods are broadly classified into
which results in development of cracks. With the formation two types. They are
of new capital, rapid Industrialization, bursting population
and decrease of available land, more and more number of 1. Mechanical Stabilization: It is based on the principle of
buildings and other civil engineering constructions has to be friction i.e., when the admixtures are added to soil and
carried out on available Black Cotton soils which are having compacted the strength is enhanced due to the friction
poor shear strength. Hence, a great diversity of ground between the soil and the material added. Examples for the
improvement techniques such as soil stabilization and materials which increase the strength by this principle are
reinforcement are needed to be employed to improve sand, plastic, geo textiles etc.
behavior of soil, thereby enhancing the reliability of
construction. 2. Chemical Stabilization: It is based on the chemical
reaction between the material added and the minerals in soil.
Examples for this type of stabilizers are lime, fly ash,
bituminous materials, cement etc.
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Volume: 05 Issue: 05 | May-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 391
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

Plastics are considered as one of the important invention Table 1: Properties of Soil Sample
which has remarkably assisted in different aspects of life S. Laboratory Test Result
whether it might be in scientific field or others. The use of No
plastic has been enormously increasing these days. But now, 1 Swelling Index 65.3%
plastic has become the significant pollutant of Environment 2 Specific Gravity 2.62
because of the Use and Throw mechanism and everyone Sieve Analysis
should think about this in the present scenario. The use of Gravel 0%
plastic has to be limited by now otherwise there would be Coarse Sand 0%
3
harshly circumstance that human and environment has to Medium Sand 0%
face in near future. Since Plastic is a non-decomposable Fine Sand 0%
material, the necessity for recycling or reusing it, is also Silt and Clay 100%
increasing thereby reducing its wastage. Utilizing this Atterberg Limits
Plastic waste for a positive purpose assists in reducing its Liquid Limit, LL 68.5%
effect on environment also. 4
Plastic Limit, PL 33.3%
Plasticity Index, PI 35.2%
Stabilization was coined as to make anything in a stable
Unconfined Compression Test
condition which itself is a challenging task. Various 5
Compressive Strength 90.8 kg/cm2
researches are going on for incorporating the waste to the
Modified Proctor Test
soil and stabilizing it so that it can be utilized for different
Optimum Moisture Content,
purposes. Thus, using plastic as stabilizer will help in two 6 20.5%
OMC
ways, in addressing the problem of disposing the plastic Maximum Dry Density, MDD 1.62 gm/cc
waste and also using the most available black cotton soils California Bearing Ratio Test,
wherever possible. 7 1.0%
CBR

The present study deals with the stabilization of Black The plastic which was collected from used plastic chairs are
cotton soils in the Capital Region of newly formed Andhra collected and are made into different strips. Plastic strips
Pradesh State i.e., Amaravathi by utilizing plastic strips with a density about 0.42 gm/cc are added to the Black
produced from used plastic chairs. The proper proportion in Cotton Soil in percentages of 2, 4, 6 and 8 and the modified
soil helps in controlling the compaction factor and also proctor test has been conducted on the sample and graphs
makes it very useful. This study indicates that Plastic wastes obtained are shown below in Figures1 to 4.
can be utilized for stabilization of soil which is concluded
from different tests performed on soil in various percentages
of plastic content.

2. OBJECTIVES
 To increase the density and California Bearing Ratio
(CBR) of soil using plastic as an admixture.

 To provide an alternative solution for the disposal of

plastic waste.

 To provide an economical solution for soil stabilization Fig. 1 Soil with 2% plastic
using plastic waste.

 To determine the optimum plastic content to be used.

3. METHODOLOGY
The materials which are considered are soil and plastic with
chemical composition of poly propylene. Tests are
conducted to determine different properties of soil sample
collected and results are tabulated and presented in Table 1.

Fig. 2 Soil with 4% plastic

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Volume: 05 Issue: 05 | May-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 392
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

Fig. 3 Soil with 6% plastic Fig. 6 Soil with 4% plastic

Fig. 7 Soil with 6% plastic

Fig. 4 Soil with 8% plastic

Similarly, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test was

conducted to obtain the CBR Value on the samples with
plastic strips in various percentages of 2, 4, 6 and 8 and the
results obtained are presented as load vs penetration graphs
below in Figures 5 to 8.

California Bearing Ratio, CBR = (Load / Standard Load) *

100

Fig. 8 Soil with 8% plastic

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CBR can be said as the indirect measure of the strength as
soil deformed was shear in nature. From the results, it is
evident that waste plastic increases the CBR value. There is
a major increase in CBR value when the soil is incorporated
with Plastic strips and compared to that of soil with no
plastic. The results are tabulated and presented below in
Fig. 5 Soil with 2% plastic Table 2.

CBR test is performed on the samples with varying

percentages of Plastic strips i.e., 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%. In
this regard, the CBR value has been increasing up to 4%
plastic content and thereon it started to decrease. From this,
it can be inferred that, 4% plastic content is the OPTIMUM
CONTENT of utilization of waste plastic in the soil.

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Volume: 05 Issue: 05 | May-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 393
IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

Table 2: Test Results of Soil Sample Incorporated with Development, Vol. 17, No.4, October 2013, ISSN
Plastic Strips 1813- 7822.
Sample Description MDD OMC CBR [4]. K.V. Madurwar, P.P. Dahale, Comparative Study of
(gm/cc) (%) (%) Black Cotton Soil Stabilization with RBI Grade 81 and
Sodium Silicate, International Journal of Innovative
Soil 1.62 20.5 1.00 Research in Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.
Soil with 2% plastic 1.75 19.0 2.02 2, Issue 2, February 2013.
Soil with 4% plastic 1.81 18.5 11.70 [5]. Consoli, N. C., Montardo, J. P., Prietto, P. D. M., and
Pasa, G. S., Engineering behavior of sand reinforced
Soil with 6% plastic 1.71 18.0 4.80
with plastic waste, Journal of Geotechnical and
Soil with 8% plastic 1.65 17.4 4.40 Geoenvironmental Engineering. Vol. 128 No. 6, 2002,
pp, 462-472.
Where, [6]. Ghiassian, H., Poorebrahim, G., and Gray, D. H., Soil
MDD is maximum dry density reinforcement with recycled carpet wastes. Waste
OMC is optimum moisture content Management Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, 2004, pp, 108–
CBR is California bearing ratio 114. HMSO. (1952) “Soil Mechanics for Road
Engineers” London.
5. CONCLUSIONS [7]. MadhaviVedula, PawanNath G and Prof. B. P.
Chandrashekar , NRRDA, New Delhi Critical review
In the present study, the improved CBR value of the soil is of innovative rural road construction techniques and
due to the addition of plastic strips. Plastic can be utilized as their impacts.
one of the material that can be used as a soil stabilizing [8]. Kaniraj, S. R. and Havanagi, V. G., Behavior of
agent but the proper proportion of plastic must be there, cement-stabilized fiber-reinforced fly ash–soil
which helps in increasing the CBR of the soil. mixtures. Journal of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 12. No. 7, 2001,
It can be concluded that CBR percentage goes on increasing pp, 574–584
up to 4% plastic content in the soil and thereon it decreases [9]. Tang, C. S, Shi, B., Gao, W., Chen, F. J., and Cai, Y.,
with increase in plastic content. Hence, we can say that 4% Strength and mechanical behavior of short
plastic content is the optimum content of plastic waste in the
polypropylene fiber reinforced and cement stabilized
soil. clayey soil. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 25,
2007, pp, 194–202.
Utilization of plastic products in various forms is
enormously increasing day by day. This has an adverse
effect in nature and it is not possible to restrict its uses. In
BIOGRAPHIES
this regard, the disposal of the plastic wastes without Dr. V. Mallikarjuna is presently working
causing any ecological hazards has become a real challenge as Associate Professor, Department of Civil
to the present society. Thus, using plastic as a soil stabilizer Engineering, V.R. Siddhartha Engineering
is an economical and gainful usage because there is lack of College, Vijayawada – 520 007, Andhra
good quality soil for various constructions. Pradesh, India. He obtained M.E., degree in
Hydraulics from Andhra University in 1995
This work serves as a means to meet the challenges of and awarded Ph.D. degree in the stream of
Amaravathi, the capital of newly formed Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Engineering in 2013. He published 09
State and also to the whole society by reducing the amount research papers in international journals and 12 in national
of plastic waste and producing useful product from non- journals and seminar proceedings. He served as Jt.
useful waste materials leading to the foundation of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Secretary, The Institution
sustainable society. of Engineers (India), Vijayawada Local Centre, Andhra
Pradesh. His research interests are, Expansive Soils,
REFERENCES Applications of GIS & Remote Sensing in the fields of
Hydrological modeling, Watershed management and Water
[1]. Pragyan Bhattarai, Bharat Kumar, Engineering Budgeting.
behavior of soil reinforced with plastic strips,
International Journal of Civil, Structural, Ms. T. Bindu Mani obtained her B.Tech.,
Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering Research degree from JNTUK, Kakinada in April,
and Development (IJCSEIERD) ISSN 2249-6866 Vol. 2016 and presently appearing for Civil
3, Issue 2, Jun 2013, 83-88. Services Examinations. She secured
[2]. Maha Hatem Nsaif, Behavior of Soils Strengthened By second place during her graduation at
Plastic Waste Materials, Proceedings of Indian College Level. She published 02 research
Geotechnical Conference December 15-17,2011, Kochi papers in national seminars.
(Paper No. H-304).
[3]. Anas ashraf, arya sunil, Soil stabiliisation using raw
plastic bottles, Journal of Engineering and

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Volume: 05 Issue: 05 | May-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 394