Utilization of Carpet Waste in Reinforcement of Substandard Soils

In the UK, 400 million tonnes of waste are generated each year. A considerable amount of this waste is attributed to construction and demolition wastes that are destined for landfill sites. Textiles, including carpet waste, on the other hand, account for only 2% of all wastes by weight but because of their high volume-to-weight ratio, once dumped into landfills they occupy large spaces. Besides, given the high added values of carpets, carpet waste account for almost £70 million of lost revenue per year in the UK. Increasing public concern for the environment and higher taxations imposed on landfill dumping are forcing manufacturers of various disciplines to seriously reduce their waste and/or find new applications for their inevitable waste. This article reports on one such application where carpet fibrous waste is included in clayey or substandard soils with the intention of enhancing soil cohesion and reinforcement. The findings suggest that inclusion of as much as 10% fibers can be tolerated and would enhance internal cohesion, shear and comprehensive strength as well as load-bearing capacity of this kind of soils. Soil moisture content is also reported to play an important role in enhancing cohesion and compressive strength of such combinations.