Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

INTRODUCTION
The demand for residential and non-residential buildings in the present are ever
increasing. Recent developments in construction have paved the way for such innovation
and advancement. With these, there is a need for affordable building materials in
providing adequate infrastructures for the increasing population. Thus, there is a need to
search for local materials for the construction of functional low-cost buildings in the face
of the current scenario.
The Philippines is mainly an agricultural country with a land area of 30 million
hectares, 47 percent of which is agricultural. The total area devoted to agricultural crops
is 13 million hectares distributed among food grains, food crops and non-food crops.
Agricultural products include rice, corn, coconut, banana, cassava, pineapple and
vegetables. From the mentioned agricultural crops, the most common agricultural wastes
are rice husk, rice straw, coconut husk, coconut shell and bagasse.
The Philippines has the largest number of coconut trees in the world as it
produces most of the world market for coconut oil and copra meal. The major coconut
wastes include coconut shell, coconut husks and coconut coir dust. Coconut shell is the
most widely utilized but the reported utilization rate is very low. Approximately, 500
million coconut trees in the Philippines produce tremendous amounts of waste as husk
(4.1 million tonnes), shell (1.8 million tonnes), and frond (4.5 million tonnes annually).
Apart from the above mentioned data, few studies identified that coconut shells can also

be used as aggregates in concrete. In the Philippines, where abundant coconut shell waste
is discharged, these wastes can be used as potential material or replacement material in
the construction industry.
Concrete is a composite material which is composed of aggregates, cement and
water. Production of concrete is increasing due to high growth of infrastructure
development and construction activities in the world. Sources of conventional aggregates
occupy the major part of the concrete. Using gravel as a conventional aggregate source,
for example, reduces the natural stone deposits and may cause ecological imbalance.
Extraction and processing of aggregates is also a major concern for the environment.
Therefore, the usage of alternative waste in place of natural aggregate in concrete
production not only protects the environment but also makes concrete a sustainable and
environment-friendly construction material.
In view of environmental sustainability and increasing costs of construction
materials, this study purposely paves the way for the identification of waste materials as
alternatives for low-cost construction. Specifically, it proposes coconut shells as coarse
aggregate substitutes in concrete.