INTRODUCTION

The Philippines lies along the western rim of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of active

volcanoes and major earthquake faults, and the Pacific typhoon belt. It has a total discontinuous

coastline of 32,400 kilometers, the longest in the world and is especially vulnerable to the adverse

impacts of climate change. It is one of the worlds most natural disaster-prone countries due to a

combination of high incidence typhoons, floods, landslides, droughts, volcanoes, earthquakes and

the countrys considerable vulnerability to these hazards (Garcia & Virtucio, 2008).

The soil erosion problem in the Philippines is quite pronounced with more than half of the

country's land area having a slope exceeding eight percent (hereby defined as the Philippine

uplands). The problem is aggravated by heavy rainfall, improper land use and management,

excessive and improper logging, shifting cultivation and road construction (PCARRD, 1992).

Greater duration and intensity of rainstorm means greater potential for soil erosion. These

caused by the impacts of raindrops on the soil surface that break down and disperse the soil

particles, which are then washed away by the storm water runoff. Over time, repeated rainfall can

lead to significant amounts of soil loss.

Along with soil erosion, the disposal of waste plastic has become a major problem now-a-

days in view of its use in almost every sphere of life. Moreover, due to limitations of its recycling

it is the need of the day to think about the constructive use of this waste at mega scale in order to

save the environment from further deterioration. One of the best alternative ways appears is to use

it as a geotechnical material. (Rawat, Kumal, 2016)

Upon this problem, geosynthetics is considerably assessed and utilized through

constructing geogrids using waste polymeric products as soil stabilizer

1.1 Background of the Study

Soil Erosion has been a major issue in the past and will become an even greater issue in the

future. Increased soil erosion means loss of land, reduced soil fertility, greater rainfall runoff, lower

groundwater recharge, more sediment flows in river, higher contaminants in diminishing water supplies,

lowered quality of drinking water, increased flooding, and diminished economic benefits and increased

hardships to both rural and urban populations especially in developing countries, but also increasingly in

developed countries too.

Geosynthetics have been defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Committee D35 on geosynthetics as planar products manufactured from polymeric materials used with

soil, rock, earth, or other geotechnical engineering related material as an integral part of a man-made

project, structure or system. They include geotextiles, geogrids, geonets, geomembrane, geosynthetic

clay liners, geofoam, geocells and geocomposite (Alao, 2011).

Geogrids are geosynthetics that helps to solve the problem of soil erosion and are also well

known for reinforcement and used widely for stabilization of slopes and embankments and other soil-

reinforcing applications (e.g., retaining walls). The principles that govern the successful use of geogrids

in soil stabilization applications are also being applied for slope erosion control.

The geosynthetics material, geogrids, are polymeric products which are formed by means of

intersecting grids The polymeric materials like polyester, high-density polyethylene and polypropylene

are main composition of geogrids [1].

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most commonly used plastics in the Philippines.

Plastics are 61% from accumulated wastes, with hard plastic including HDPE covering 11% of the

wastes. It is typically found in milk jugs, plastic bags and refillable plastic bottles. HDPE plastic has

several properties that make it ideal as a packaging and manufacturing product. Its stronger than
standard polyethylene, acts as an effective barrier against moisture and remains solid at room

temperature. Recycling contributes to reduction in resource consumption and pollution.

This study aims to help create new, reusable, eco-friendly products and keep millions of pounds

of waste from entering our landfills by recycling HDPE plastic waste. And therefore the focus of this

study is the utilization and assessment of HDPE plastic wastes in the Philippines.

1.2 Objectives of the study

1.2.1 General Objective

To utilize the waste High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as Geogrid for Soil Stabilization

1.2.2 Specific Objectives

1. To determine the maximum angle of friction of soil with the application of Utilize waste

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as Geogrid.

2. To determine the tensile strength of HDPE as geogrid with respect to varying ratio of waste

HDPE and raw HDPE

2.1 50% Raw HDPE:50% Waste HDPE
2.2 100% Raw HDPE

1.3 Statement of the problem

In this research study, the waste High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) will be used as materials for

geogrids as soil stabilizer.

By the end of this study, the researchers will answer the following problem.

1. What is the maximum angle of friction of soil with the application of Utilize waste High

Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as Geogrid?

3. What is the tensile strength of HDPE as geogrid with respect to varying ratio of waste HDPE

and raw HDPE

3.1 50% Raw HDPE:50% Waste HDPE
 3.2 100% Raw HDPE

1.4 Significance of the Study

The Assessment of Waste HDPE as Geogrid for Soil Stabilization is the main focus of the researchers.

The significance of this study are as follows:

(1) Industries as well as individuals will benefit in this research by using waste HDPE to decrease

the continuous degradation of environment due to unrecycled plastics.

(2) The students who have conducted this research will attain further knowledge and information,

experience and appreciation of the modern-day ideas and will familiarize to any kind of situation

once they step in the professional world;

(3) Geotextile Manufactures will benefit in this research by utilizing which ratio of waste HDPE and

raw HDPE will provide maximum tensile strength for geogrid

(4) And for future researchers that will enrich the study

1.5 Scope and Delimitations

This study is focused on the utilization of waste High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bottles as a

potential geogrid for soil stabilization.

Waste High-Density Polyethylene bottles that are commonly used in the market are the only

polymers that are used and utilized in this study as a geosynthetic material to improve the stability of the

ground. The study delimits only the identification of the shear resistance against the soil specimen

through the Direct Shear Test with or without the application of the geosynthetic material as geogrid

made from the utilized HDPE, and the determination of the tensile strength of the generated product in a

strip in comparison to the geogrid made purely of its original material. In addition, the researchers will

also use a 50:50 waste HDPE to the original raw material ratio as its basis in the remolding of the
desired product. This study covers a certain soil type from a field location to be used upon testing in the

laboratory to determine the strength parameters and compatibility of the material to the said soil type.

After a series of tests, the results would be analyzed and the effects of the geogrid would be

evaluated in both samples.

The study started on June 2017 and will end on March 2018.

1.6 Conceptual Framework

The main concern of this study is to stabilize soil using waste HDPE using the ratio 50% Waste

HDPE to 50% raw

Collection of Waste HDPE Collection of Raw HDPE

Gather WHDPE and RHDPE in to Gather RHDPE in remolding

remolding machine with design machine
ratio of 50:50

REMOLDING

INPUT

Geogrid with design ratio of 50% Geogrid with 100% RHDPE

RHDPE and 50% WHDPE
 PROCESS

DIRECT SHEAR TEST

CBR

Stabilized Soil using Geogrid with Stabilized Soil using Geogrid with
design ratio of 50% RHDPE and 100% RHDPE
50% WHDPE