Evaluation of the mechanical properties of bricks made with glass and plastic waste. Analysis of carbon dioxide emissions

The use of non-biodegradable waste such as glass and plastic in the construction industry has received significant attention for a cleaner environment. This work presents a study of bricks'; mechanical properties containing aggregates, glass, and polyethylene terephthalate pellets. The bricks were melted at a temperature up to 240 degrees C for 3 hours and cooled by natural convection. The results showed that an increase in the content of glass and aggregates generates an increase in density, being higher in the samples with a higher aggregates content. The same trend was observed in compressive strength. The sample with the highest aggregates'; content showed an improvement of 243% compared to the reference (prepared only with plastic). The results indicated that carbon dioxide emissions decreased by around 30% in the prepared samples, compared to traditional bricks. The use of plastic and glass waste in brick production is expected to become a recovery route.