Recycled PPE could strengthen concrete

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Engineers in Australia have developed a method to use recycled personal protective equipment (PPE) to make concrete stronger.

The RMIT team’s concrete that was made using PPE
The RMIT team’s concrete that was made using PPE - RMIT University

Published in the journals Case Studies in Construction Materials, Science of the Total Environment and Journal of Cleaner Production, the study from RMIT University, Melbourne demonstrates the potential for three key types of disposable PPE to be used as reinforcement materials in structural concrete. 

An estimated 54,000 tonnes of PPE waste has been produced on average globally each day since the beginning of the pandemic. Around 129 billion disposable face masks are used and discarded around the world each month.

First author, PhD researcher Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, said the research brought a circular economy approach to the challenge of dealing with healthcare waste.

“We urgently need smart solutions for the ever-growing pile of COVID-19 generated waste – this  challenge will remain even after the pandemic is over,” said Kilmartin-Lynch, a Vice-Chancellor’s Indigenous Pre-Doctoral Fellow at RMIT.

In three separate feasibility studies, disposable face masks, rubber gloves and isolation gowns were first shredded then incorporated into concrete at various volumes between 0.1 per cent and 0.25 per cent.

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