Application of Asphalt Concrete Pavement to Reduce Plastic Pollution in the Community: A Case Study of the Entrance Road at Mae Sa Luang Temple, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

An application of asphaltic concrete pavement to reduce plastic waste problems in a local community was aimed at investigating asphaltic concrete pavement construction process using plastic wastes collected from Wat Mae Sa Luang Community and its neighborhood as an additive. A Job Mix Formula for a regular mixture was established and used as a basis for the design of modified asphaltic concrete samples in which different amounts of plastic wastes were added. The Marshall Method was used to determine strength and deformation properties of the samples. The specified requirements of Thailand’s Department of Highways were used as a benchmark. The obtained optimum plastic waste content was selected and implemented on a road construction at the road leading to Wat Mae Sa Luang Community, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province. The study results have shown that adding an appropriate amount of plastic wastes to the mixture is capable of increasing the stability value of the pavement to 21.8 kN compared to those of 10.8 kN from the regular mixture and 8.0 kN from the standards of Thailand’s Department of Highways. An implementation to construct a 5-cm thick, 150-m long road (600 sq. m.) at the community has also indicated that adding plastic wastes to asphaltic concrete mixture was able to reduce plastic wastes in the community by as much as 540 kg.