Transforming Municipal Solid Waste into Construction Materials

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation and the associated infrastructure development are creating a deficit of conventional construction materials and straining the natural resources. On the other hand, municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal poses a serious environmental problem. Landfilling of MSW is both costly and polluting. Incineration of MSW to generate energy is a commonly adopted approach. However, there are concerns associated with micro pollutants emitted from the combustion process. The carbon footprint of the process and the environmental cost–benefit balancing are disputable. There is clearly a need to adopt cost-effective alternatives to treat MSW. This paper proposes the potential application of “t..