Waste Tetra Pak® beverage containers as reinforcement in polymer concrete

Abstract

Due to their effectiveness in food preservation, Tetra Pak®is widely used around the world. Unfortunately, only a small part of these is recycled, making it a highly polluting material. The objective of this work lies on using waste Tetra Pak® beverage containers as reinforcement in polymeric concrete manufactured with 20% polyester resin and 80% marble. Three sizes of Tetra Pak® particles were used, small (1x0.5 mm); medium (3x3 mm) and large (5x5 mm), which replaced 1% of marble´s concentration. Concretes were evaluated in both compression and flexural tests. Results show improvements in the elastic modulus, in the flexural resistance and in the strain at yield point, 39%, 5% and 5%, respectively. This work shows a novel and successful alternative for reusing Tetra Pak® packages aiming to reduce its environmental impact.