Impact of Plastic Waste on the 3D Consolidation Characteristics of Sandy-Silt with Clay Soil

Recycling plastic trash from water bottles has become a significant global concern since plastic garbage is one of the critical components of urban solid waste. The present study has taken the initiative to mitigate the harmful effect of plastic on the environment by performing a laboratory 3D consolidation test to investigate the impact of waste plastic fibres on the consolidation behaviour of the soil. The experimental study used two different aspect ratios of 4 and 2 (length-to-width ratio) of raw plastic bottle fibres. Four plastic fibre percentages, such as 0.00, 0.20, 0.50, and 1.00% by dry weight of the soil, have been chosen for the present study. The result shows that with the increase in plastic strip percentage, the compressibility of the soil decreases, and the coefficient of consolidation increases, thus reducing the soil settlement. Incorporating plastic waste improves the soil consolidation characteristics; at the same time, it reduces the waste plastic material from the environment, reducing environmental pollution.