Appraising the potentials of reusing plastic bottles as building blocks for housing construction at Paipe village Abuja Nigeria

Mansir Dodo; Abdulmalik  Badamasi; Kabir  Ibrahim; Narimah  Kasim; Zairra  Mat Jusoh; Suleiman  Musa Garba; Sanusi  Gambo

doi:10.59400/be1459

Appraising the potentials of reusing plastic bottles as building blocks for housing construction at Paipe village Abuja Nigeria

Mansir Dodo Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru Zaria 810006, Nigeria
Abdulmalik Badamasi School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Kabir Ibrahim Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, University of Free States, Bloemfontien 9300, South Africa
Narimah Kasim Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor 86400, Malaysia
Zairra Mat Jusoh School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Built Environment, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Suleiman Musa Garba Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru Zaria 810006, Nigeria
Sanusi Gambo Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru Zaria 810006, Nigeria

Article ID: 1459

107 Views

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/be1459

Keywords: building blocks; Nigeria; plastic bottles; reuse

Abstract

Plastic bottles package a multitude of commodities consumed worldwide. Upon consumption of the commodity, the disposed plastic bottles accumulate as waste, having impacts on both the aquatic and terrestrial environment. In a bid to convert such waste to wealth, plastic bottles are creatively reused for different applications, such as pedestrian bridge boats and street furniture, amongst others. Another application of reusing plastic bottles is their serving as building blocks for housing construction. Reports and research in Nigeria confirm the proliferation of plastic bottles littering the environment, which if reused in housing construction has the potential to contribute to achieving both UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11 (making human settlements sustainable) and 12 (ensuring sustainable consumption and production). Although Nigeria is traced to being the first country in Africa to reuse plastic bottles in housing construction, not much research output exists from practitioners’ experience on the potentials of reusing plastic bottles as a sustainable construction material as practiced in countries like Vietnam, India, and the Philippines, among others. As such, this study investigates the potential factors driving the practice of reusing plastic bottles in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the satisfaction derived from the practice for sustainable housing construction. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 41 respondents identified as having experience in using plastic bottles in construction (5 staffs of Awonto Konsult as well as 36 staffs of Brains and Hammers Construction). Data was analysed descriptively using both IBM SPSS Statistics 23 as well as MS Excel to compute the Mean Score as well as the Relative Satisfaction Index (RSI). Only 30 questionnaires were successfully retrieved and fully answered. Amongst the 10 potential factors studied driving reusing plastic bottles, results show that almost all respondents tend to be ‘satisfied’ with both ‘strength and stability’ (having a Mean Value of 4.70 and RSI of 0.94) as well as ‘durability’ (having a Mean Value of 4.50; RSI of 0.90) of buildings built with plastic bottles. These two factors recorded the highest ‘satisfaction’ ratings, leaning towards ‘very satisfied’. Regarding the factor ‘fire resistance’ of buildings built with plastic bottles (having a Mean Value of 3.40; RSI of 0.68), results reveal that 50 percent of the respondents are ‘unsure’ if it is a satisfactory factor driving reusing plastic bottles or not. The study found that the satisfaction ratings of technical and environmental factors have higher appeal to respondents compared to health and safety and also financial factors. It is recommended that Awonto Konsult and also Brains and Hammers Construction invest more in information related to the fire resistance of plastic bottles used in construction because fire outbreaks pose great threats to buildings. Equally, wider empirical research on plastic bottle wastes, if undertaken, could support the development of policies for waste management, particularly in developing countries. This research has the potential to convert waste into wealth in a bid to minimising environmental impacts of disposed plastic bottles as well as contribute to sustainable materials, particularly for rural housing. Since this study was based on a survey, experimental studies of potentials driving the reuse of plastic bottles in housing construction will reveal results that could enable more sustainable housing construction in Nigeria.

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Published

2024-11-08

How to Cite

Dodo, M., Badamasi, A., Ibrahim, K., Kasim, N., Mat Jusoh, Z., Musa Garba, S., & Gambo, S. (2024). Appraising the potentials of reusing plastic bottles as building blocks for housing construction at Paipe village Abuja Nigeria. Building Engineering, 3(1), 1459. https://doi.org/10.59400/be1459

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