Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference

December 15-17,2011, Kochi (Paper No. H-304)

SOIL STABILIISATION USING RAW PLASTIC BOTTLES

Anas Ashraf, B. Tech final year student, College of Engineering Trivandrum, anas_577@yahoo.co.in
Arya Sunil, B. Tech final year student, College of Engineering Trivandrum, aryasunil89@gmail.com
J. Dhanya, B. Tech final year student, College of Engineering Trivandrum, dhanyaj17@gmail.com
Mariamma Joseph, Professor, College of Engineering, Trivandrum, mjh_mariamma@yahoo.co.in
Meera Varghese, B. Tech final year student, College of Engineering Trivandrum, meera_varghese@yahoo.com
M. Veena, B. Tech final year student, College of Engineering Trivandrum, veenam_20jul@yahoo.co.in
ABSTRACT: Soil stabilisation is any process which improves the physical properties of soil, such as increasing shear
strength, bearing capacity etc. which can be done by use of controlled compaction or addition of suitable admixtures like
cement, lime and waste materials like fly ash, phosphogypsum etc. The cost of introducing these additives has also
increased in recent years which opened the door widely for the development of other kinds of soil additives such as
plastics, bamboo etc. This new technique of soil stabilisation can be effectively used to meet the challenges of society, to
reduce the quantities of waste, producing useful material from non-useful waste materials. Use of plastic products such as
polythene bags, bottles etc. is increasing day by day leading to various environmental concerns. Therefore the disposal of
the plastic wastes without causing any ecological hazards has become a real challenge. Thus using plastic bottles as a soil
stabiliser is an economical utilization since there is scarcity of good quality soil for embankments. This project involves the
detailed study on the possible use of waste plastic bottles for soil stabilisation. The analysis was done by conducting plate
load tests on soil reinforced with layers of plastic bottles filled with sand and bottles cut to halves placed at middle and onethird positions of tank. The comparison of test results showed that cut bottles placed at middle position were the most
efficient in increasing strength of soil. The optimum percentage of plastic strips in soil was found out by California Bearing
Ratio Test and using this percentage of plastic, plate load test was also performed. The size and content of strips of waste
plastic bottles have significant effect on the enhancement of strength of the soil.
INTRODUCTION
Soil stabilisation means the improvement of stability or
bearing power of the soil by the use of controlled
compaction, proportioning and/or the addition of suitable
admixture or stabilisers. The basic principles of soil
stabilisation are:
x Evaluating the properties of given soil.
x Deciding the lacking property of soil and choose
effective and economical method of soil stabilisation.
x Designing the stabilised soil mix for intended stability
and durability values.
Stabilisation can increase the shear strength of a soil and/or
control the shrink-swell properties of a soil, thus improving
the load bearing capacity of a sub-grade to support
pavements and foundations. Stabilisation can be used to
treat a wide range of sub-grade materials from expansive
clays to granular materials. The most common
improvements achieved through stabilisation include better
soil gradation, reduction of plasticity index or swelling
potential, and increases in durability and strength. In wet
weather, stabilisation may also be used to provide a
working platform for construction operations. These types
of soil quality improvement are referred to as soil
modification. Benefits of soil stabilisation are higher
resistance values, reduction in plasticity, lower
permeability, reduction of pavement thickness, elimination
of excavation, material hauling and handling, and base
importation, aids compaction, provides all-weather access
489

onto and within projects sites. The determining factors

associated with soil stabilisation may be the existing
moisture content, the end use of the soil structure and
ultimately the cost benefit provided.
As good soil becomes scarcer and their location becomes
more difficult and costly, the need to improve quality of
soil using soil stabilisation is becoming more important.
Soil stabilisation using raw plastic bottles is an alternative
method for the improvement of subgrade soil of pavement.
It can significantly enhance the properties of the soil used
in the construction of road infrastructure.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
For many years, road engineers have used additives such as
lime, cement and cement kiln dust to improve the qualities
of readily available local soils. Laboratory and field
performance tests have confirmed that the addition of such
additives can increase the strength and stability of such
soils. However, the cost of introducing these additives has
also increased in recent years. This has opened the door
widely for the development and introduction of other kinds
of soil additives such as plastics, bamboo, liquid enzyme
soil stabilizers etc.
Soil stabilisation using raw plastic bottles is an alternative
method for the improvement of subgrade soil of pavement.
It can significantly enhance the properties of the soil used
in the construction of road infrastructure. Results include a

Anas Ashraf, Arya Sunil, J. Dhanya, Mariamma Joseph, Meera Varghese & M. Veena
better and longer lasting road with increased loading
capacity and reduced soil permeability. This new technique
of soil stabilisation can be effectively used to meet the
challenges of society, to reduce the quantities of waste,
producing useful material from non-useful waste materials
that lead to the foundation of sustainable society. It can be
effectively used in strengthening the soil for road
embankments and in preparing a suitable base for the upper
pavement structure. Since it increases the bearing capacity
of soil considerably, the land use can be increased. It can
lower the road construction and maintenance costs while
increasing the overall quality of its structure and surface.

Fig. 1 Compaction curve

The promise that soil stabilisation technology can actually

improve the mechanical qualities of local road soil so that
stronger, more durable roads can be built has prompted
national road ministries around the world to conduct
extensive testing to verify that this new technology is truly
cost-effective. The result is that this new advance in soil
stabilisation technology is increasingly being used in both
constructing and improving/rehabilitating unsurfaced and
paved roads worldwide.

CBR TEST
Table 1 CBR Values for soil with varying percentages of
plastic strips
% of Plastic Content
CBR Value
0.0
1.9
0.2
1.7
0.4
1.8
0.6
2.5
0.8
1.3
1.0
1.3

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

In order to conduct this study, various materials such as
lateritic soil, plastic bottles (both cut and uncut), sea sand
and synthetic threads were used.

3
CBR value

The Standard Proctor Compaction tests were done to assess

the amount of compaction and the water content required in
the field [1]. The water content at which the maximum dry
density is attained is obtained from the relationships
provided by the tests.

2
1
0

The California Bearing Ratio test was conducted to

determine the optimum amount of plastic strips in soil. This
is done by mixing soil with varying percentages (0.0%,
0.2%, 0.4% etc.) of plastic strips in soil and the 4 day
soaked CBR Value is obtained. [2].Plate load tests were
conducted with plain lateritic soil, soil stabilised with full
bottles, soil stabilised with bottles cut to two halves and
soil stabilised with optimum percentage of plastic strips[3].
Load-settlement graphs for each plate load test were drawn.
For each load-settlement graph, the load corresponding to
4mm settlement was noted. The ultimate load and
corresponding settlement of the plate is also determined
from the load- settlement graph plotted for various test
arrangements.

0.5

1.5

Percentage of plastic content

Fig. 2 Relation between CBR Value and percentage of

plastic content
It is observed from the test results that for soil mixed with
waste plastic strips, soaked CBR values increased from
1.967 to 2.479 with 0.6% of plastic and there after
decreased. Hence the optimum percentage of plastic strip in
soil is found to be 0.6%. It was also observed that there was
a reduction in the CBR value from 1.967 for plain soil to
1.687 on adding 0.2% plastic this is because the addition of
small amount of plastic into soil lead to a dispersed and
disturbed structure to soil than that it was in its compact
form. Also the optimum moisture content was maintained
the same so it also affected the decrease in the value.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

COMPACTION TEST
From the compaction curve, the maximum dry density and
optimum moisture content were obtained as 18.95kN/m3
and 11.22 % respectively. This is used for finding the bulk
density of the soil filled in the tank for plate load test. The
California Bearing Ratio test was also carried out by
mixing the soil with optimum moisture content
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Soil Stabilisation Using Raw Plastic Bottles

Table 3 Variation of settlements for final load

PLATE LOAD TEST

Tests done on

Table 2 Comparison of loads corresponding to 4mm

settlement
Percentage
variation
Tests done on
Settlement Corresponding of
load
from plain
(mm)
Load (kg)
soil
Sand
filled
bottles
at
D/B=0.67
Sand
filled
bottles at D/B=1
Bottles cut to
halves
at
D/B=0.67
Bottles cut to
halves at D/B=1
Soil mixed with
optimum
percentage(0.6%)
of Plastic strips

440

585

33%

680

54.5%

740

68.1%

900

104.5%

1200

172.7%

From Table 2, it can be inferred that the load carried

corresponding to 4mm settlement is much more for soil
stabilised with plastic than that of plain soil and thus the
there is considerable increase in bearing capacity of the
soil. The plastic bottles and bottle cut to halves gave more
strength when kept at D/B=1 than that at D/B=0.67.When
load is applied, the distribution of load takes place as
shown in Fig. 4.16 It is clear that at D/B=0.67,only a
portion of the plastic bottles become effective in carrying
the load, while at D/B=1, the whole layer contributes in
taking the load. This may be the reason for the above
phenomenon noted.
Also it is found that the improvement in strength is much
more for plastic bottles cut to halves than for plastic bottles
filled with sand. Arch action may be stated as the reason
for this increase in strength.

Percentage
Final
variation of
settlement
settlement
(mm)
from plain soil

Plain soil
1344.1 18.1
Sand filled bottles at
1344.1 14.1
22.0%
D/B=0.67
Sand filled bottles at
1344.1 13.8
23.7%
D/B=1
Bottles cut to halves
1344.1 13.4
26.0%
at D/B=0.67
Bottles cut to halves
1344.1 10.0
44.7%
at D/B=1
Soil mixed with
optimum
1344.1 5.26
70.9%
percentage(0.6%) of
Plastic strips
From Table 3, it is evident that the final settlement for all
cases of soil stabilised with plastic is much less than that of
plain soil. Decrease in settlement points to the increase in
the bearing capacity of the soil. The factors contributing to
this increase are the position of bottles, arch action etc.
While comparing the percentage variations, it is clear that
the maximum percentage decrease in settlement is that for
the soil mixed with optimum amount of plastic strips. In
the case of soil stabilised with plastic bottles minimum
settlement is noted for the plastic bottles cut to halves at
D/B=1; this may be due to arch action.

Fig. 3. Load-settlement curves for various test set-ups

Plain soil

Final
load
(kg)

It can also be noted that there is not much difference in

final settlements for the soil stabilised with sand filled
bottles at D/B=0.67 and D/B=1, whereas there is
considerable difference comparing the final settlements of
the soil stabilised with bottles cut to halves kept at the
respective position.
The ultimate load and corresponding settlement of the plate
is determined from the load- settlement graph plotted for
various test arrangements. It is obtained from the load and
settlement corresponding to the intersection of the tangents
drawn to the initial and final straight portions of the curve
obtained.
Table 4 Ultimate load and corresponding settlement
Ultimate Corresponding
Tests done on
load(kg) settlement(mm)
Plain soil
360
1.6
Sand filled bottles at D/B=0.67
480
1.2
Sand filled bottles at D/B=1
Bottles cut to halves at
D/B=0.67
Bottles cut to halves at D/B=1
Soil mixed with optimum
percentage(0.6%) of Plastic
strips
491

560

1.6

600

1.2

760

1.6

720

0.6

Anas Ashraf, Arya Sunil, J. Dhanya, Mariamma Joseph, Meera Varghese & M. Veena
760
480

560

due to the reason that in both cases the soil is being filled
similar to that of plain soil to a depth of 30cm (half the
depth of tank). Thus the immediate settlement of the soil
remains the same.

720

600

It is also seen that the ultimate load for soil mixed with
optimum amount of plastic strip is less than that of bottles
cut to halves kept at D/B= 1, but when comparing the
corresponding settlements, the former one showed only
3/8th the settlement of that of the latter case.
While comparing the test results, the arrangement which
carried the maximum load with minimum settlement is that
for soil mixed with optimum amount of plastic. At the
same time it can also be noted that soil stabilized with
bottles cut to halves kept at D/B=1 also carried
considerable load.

Soil mixed with

optimum % of Plastic

Bottles cut to halves at

D/B=1

Bottles cut to halves at

D/B=0.67

Sand filled bottles at

D/B=1

Sand filled bottles at

D/B=0.67

360

Plain soil

800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

If we compare the quantity of waste plastic required to get

the desired results only a few bottles is sufficient when the
soil is stabilised with sand filled bottles (about 18 bottles
for our test set up) and also for soil stabilised with bottles
cut to halves (about 9 bottles for our test set-up). Whereas,
the number of bottles which is necessary to stabilise the
soil with optimum amount of plastic strips were much
higher (about 200 bottles for our test set-up). Thus the
plastic content in the soil is very much high when the strips
are used.

Fig. 4. Variations of ultimate load for various test

arrangements.
1.6

1.6
1.2

1.6
1.2

CONCLUSIONS
Use of plastic products such as polythene bags, bottles,
containers and packing strips etc. is increasing day by day.
The disposal of the plastic wastes without causing any
ecological hazards has become a real challenge to the
present society. Thus using plastic bottles as a soil
stabiliser is an economical and gainful utilization since
there is scarcity of good quality soil for embankments and
fills. Thus this project is to meets the challenges of society
to reduce the quantities of plastic waste, producing useful
material from non-useful waste materials that lead to the
foundation of sustainable society.

Soil mixed with

optimum % of

Bottles cut to halves

at D/B=1

Bottles cut to halves

at D/B=0.67

Sand filled bottles at

D/B=1

Sand filled bottles at

D/B=0.67

0.6

Plain soil

1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

Fig 5. Variations of settlement corresponding to the

ultimate load for various test arrangements.

REFERENCES
1. Arora, K. R. (2004). Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering. Standard Publishers Distributors.
2. Kumar, M. A., Prasad, D. S. V. and Prasadaraju, G.
V. R. (2009). Utilisation of industrial waste in flexible
pavement construction. Electronic Journal of
Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 13
3. IS: 1888(1982), Method of Load Test on Soils. Indian
Standards Institutions, New Delhi.
4. Bateni, F. (2009). Stabilisation Mechanisms of oilpalm fruit bunch fibre reinforced silty
sand.
Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Auckland.
5.
Purushothama Raj, P. (2005). Soil Mechanics and
Foundation Engineering. Pearson Education.

From Table 4 and Fig. 4, it can be noted that the ultimate

load increased for the various cases of the soil stabilized
with plastic than that for the plain soil. This increase in
load carrying capacity is due to the efficiency contributed
by the bottles that was intermixed to the plain soil. The
reason for increased load for D/B=1 when compared to
D/B =0.67 is due to the variation in the distribution of load
as stated earlier. It can also be noted that when compared to
plastic bottles filled with sand, bottles cut to halves carried
much higher load; this may be due to arch action.
It can also be noted from Table 4 and Fig.5 that, though the
ultimate load carried by the soil stabilised with bottles
filled with sand and bottles cut to halves at D/B= 1 is
higher than that for the plain soil, its corresponding
settlement remained same as that for the plain soil. This is
492