Waste Plastic Use in Floor Tiles & Renewable Energy Generation

Abstract

Large amount of plastic which is discarded or burned is leading to the contamination of environment and air. Many efforts are made to reduce use of plastic or use plastic waste in many ways to reduce its impact on environment. An experimental investigation is made to use plastic waste in floor tiles.  The plastic used can replace cement and hence a possibility of reduced use of cement in making of floor tiles.  In the methodology adopted, Low-Density Poly Ethylene (LDPE) and High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) plastic bags/covers which are cleaned are obtained in the shredded form. This is heated and added with M-Sand.  The various percentage of waste plastic is cast to obtain the optimum mix results for required strength of floor tiles. Over the layer of optimum mix of M-sand with plastic, the tile is finished with a layer of cement mortar to preserve the aesthetics of flooring tile.  The floor tile is cost effective with the replacement or reduction of cement. It is also, environmental friendly with the reduction of cement use and utilization of waste plastic in a better way. In the study an attempt is also reported for generation of electrical energy. Flooring using piezoelectric material is suitable for places of foot traffic. This technology of using flooring tiles to generate electricity with mechanical pressure mechanism is attempted. Using this, harvesting of electricity from movement of foot traffic/automobiles can be thought of.