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Pavements 2025

Asphalt Binder and Mixture Characterization

POSTER RECEPTION (View list of posters here)

Recycling of Plastic Mulch Waste from Strawberry Farmlands to Asphalt Pavements

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

4:45 PM – 6:00 PM MT

Primary Author(s)

Kun Zhang, PhD

Associate Professor
California State University, Chico
Chico, CA, United States

Co-Author(s)

FA

Funmilayo Adesina, n/a

Graduate Student
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington, United States
Yuefeng Zhu, Ph.D

Postdoc research associate
California State University, Chico
Chico, California, United States
HL

Hui Li, CMEC

Assistant Professor
Washington State University/CMEC
Pullman, Washington, United States
KE

Karl Englund, n/a

Research Professor
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington, United States
LD

Lisa W. DeVetter, PhD

Associate Professor, Horticulture
Washington State University
Mount Vernon, Washington, United States

Submitter(s)

Kun Zhang, PhD

Associate Professor
California State University, Chico
Chico, CA, United States

Abstract: Polyethylene plastic mulch (PE mulch) has been increasingly used by specialty crop growers to improve crop yield and quality. However, most PE mulch after use ends up in landfills causing plastic pollution. The challenge of recycling PE mulch wastes is due to its complex and high contamination contents including soil, moisture, plant debris, and/or pesticide residues. To address this challenge and promote the recycling of PE mulch, this study explored the processing methodology to pretreat PE mulch waste collected from strawberry farmlands and the incorporation of processed PE mulch waste as a modifier in asphalt paving materials. A total of 10 different asphalt binders and 11 asphalt mixtures were produced and tested to study the effects of PE mulch wastes on the performance of asphalt binders and mixtures. The performance tests were conducted to evaluate the rutting and cracking resistances of PE mulch-modified asphalt binders and mixtures. Both wet and dry mixing methods were used to produce PE mulch-modified asphalt mixtures in the laboratory. The test results showed that the addition of PE mulch stiffened asphalt binders physically, which benefited the rutting resistance but slightly compromised aging-induced cracking resistance and low-temperature thermal cracking resistance. The recycled PE mulch had a lower modification effectiveness for asphalt binders than the new PE mulch at the same dosage level due to low effective plastic content. The dry mixing method is recommended to incorporate PE mulch waste in mixtures, as it has less adverse effects on the cracking resistance than the wet mixing method, allowing for a higher recycling dosage of PE mulch waste in asphalt mixtures.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees can expect to learn the following from this session:

Upon completion, participants will be able to identify the challenges of recycling plastic mulch from strawberry farmlands
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the effects of recycled plastic mulch on asphalt binder modification
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the dry mixing and wet mixing methods to recycle plastic mulch in asphalt mixtures and describe their influences on mixtures' performance