Life Cycle Cost Assessment of Green Lightweight Concrete Utilizing Recycled Plastic Based Lightweight Aggregates

The world is experiencing an increasing quantity of plastic wastes, which is becoming a major environmental challenge. Recycled plastics have found their use in construction by replacing natural aggregates in concrete. However, they are not yet well-employed due to the lack of financial studies related to their use. This research aims to evaluate the life cycle cost implications of using recycled plastic based lightweight aggregate (PLA) for applications in concrete structures. Multiple design parameters of conventional concrete and concrete with PLA were used alternately in 24 different scenarios. Using PLA in construction reduced the costs of concrete and steel by 7.23% and 7.18%, respectively. The overall life cycle costs' reduction reached 8.9%. It was also found that slabs with lengths spanning around four and five meters have higher cost-benefit from using PLA. This study's findings contribute to the environmental conservation, body of knowledge, and ideological change in the construction field and material development.