The increasing accumulation of plastic waste, driven by rapid industrialization, economic growth, and population expansion, has become a major global environmental and humanitarian issue. Immediate and effective measures are therefore required to tackle this problem. One promising solution is the inclusion of recycled plastics in concrete, which promotes a more sustainable and cleaner environment through minimizing landfill wastes, preserving natural resources, and fostering innovation within construction industry. This study examines the engineering characteristics of concrete that includes different forms of waste plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), in applications including concrete, mortar, asphaltic mixes, and bitumen. PET aggregates were found to significantly enhance the workability of fresh concrete mixes show higher slump than conventional mixes at similar water–cement ratio. Additionally, concrete containing PET aggregates demonstrated better abrasion resistance than conventional concrete. Water absorption values varied depending on aggregate characteristics, with coarse and flaky aggregates, fine and regular aggregates, and fine and flaky aggregates showing values of 0.75%, 0.39%, and 0.11%, respectively. Furthermore, the partial replacement of cement with plastic waste powder ranging from 5% to 25% at a water: binder at 0.35 resulted in compressive strengths ranging from 45.54 MPa to 60.40 MPa after 28 days, which is acceptable for structural applications. However, raising proportion of reused plastic aggregates largely resulted in a decrease in the density of concrete, with more pronounced effects observed when larger and irregularly shaped particles were used. The incorporation of waste plastic as reinforcing fibers (at 0.5% and 0.75% by weight) yielded compressive strengths of 36.9 N/mm² and 39.27 N/mm², respectively.
Overall, the advancement in construction materials that incorporating reused plastics represents a significant breakthrough in the construction and plastic recovering industries, contributing to sustainable development and environmental protection.
