Sustainable utilisation of low-grade and contaminated waste glass fines as a partial sand replacement in structural concrete

Abstract

Waste glass stockpiling is a significant issue in Australia with approximately 66 kilo tonnes of uneconomic and contaminated waste glass fines being produced each year in Victoria alone. The high level of contaminants in waste glass fines could be harmful to concrete while washing glass is not economical and sustainable. Limited research has investigated the effect of contaminants in waste glass fines on the performance of concrete, which has hampered its broader acceptance as a substitution for natural sand aggregate. In this study, the feasibility of utilising unwashed waste glass fines as a sand replacement at 10 wt% was comprehensively investigated, under both laboratory and on-site conditions. Minor differences were observed in both mechanical and durability properties between concrete with and without waste glass fines at 10 wt% replacement. Overall, this study found that the effect of contaminants in waste glass fines can be neglected when being used as a replacement for natural sand at 10 wt%.

Keywords

• Waste glass
• Contaminants
• Concrete
• Sustainability
• Environmental risk