A study on the impact of glass waste on properties of concrete

Abstract

According to the Global Environment Centre (GEC), solid waste is one of the three major environmental problems in Malaysia, where, over 23,000 tons of waste produced per day in Malaysia. The problem is predicted to become worse as this amount is expected to rise to 30,000 tons by the year 2020. Thus, „recycling? is the best way to reduce the amount of waste and reduce the problem of shortage of landfill area, and promote environmental sustainability. The laboratory experiment was conducted to study the properties of concrete (workability and compressive strength) by using recycle clear container glass as fine aggregates. The mix ratio was designed as 1:2:4. A proportion of fine aggregate was replaced by glass waste with particle sizes range of 50?m – 4.75mm and 2.38FM a ratio of 20%, 40% and 60%. The samples were investigated in terms of strength and workability. The characteristics and physical properties of glass waste are also studied. The result of the experiment from the research suggested that glass waste aggregate has the potential to be used as fine aggregate in concrete applications. However, in order to market “glass waste concrete”, further research has to be carried out in terms of others concrete properties, chemical reaction, design and service life.