Sustainability of recycling plastic waste as fibers for concrete: a review

Abstract

Plastic waste management is of global concern while construction industry keeps searching for innovations to become more sustainable. In this scenario, recycling plastic waste as fibers for reinforcement of concrete stands out as a promising alternative to address both problems. In the last decade, many reviews have focused on how plastic fibers affect concrete properties and how waste can be used to produce these fibers. This paper presents an umbrella review of 47 previous reviews published from 2008 to 2021, covering papers from 1949 to 2021. As a result, bases were set to clarify the full life cycle of recycled plastic fiber-reinforced concrete (RP-FRC), including circularity strategies, to strengthen consistent contributions to the area in the future. The review compares and discusses the types of plastic waste suitable for producing plastic fibers, the effects of recycled plastic fibers on concrete properties and the sustainability of this recycling alternative. Finally, recommendations and unanswered questions for further research were formulated.