A Proposed Project of Sustainable Bricks Made with Discarded Disposable Face Masks

Vol.3, No.1D

Abstract

Disposable face masks and other personal protection equipment have been important for healthcare workers and ordinary people since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Disposable face masks have been in high demand to restrict and reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19. All of those masks have an environmental cost. Healthcare workers must wear masks for the vast bulk of the time, even if the cases decrease in certain areas. To address the issue above, using disposable face masks as a construction material for building bricks could be a viable and long-term solution for managing a country's medical waste. This study utilized the quantitative-experimental research method while utilizing a purposive sampling technique. 

The statistical treatment used for this study was Student’s T-Test to find out if there is a significant difference between the American Concrete Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard of brick and bricks made with discarded disposable face masks in terms of compressive strength, water absorption and moisture content. The study used a questionnaire as the research instrument where researchers surveyed two groups of respondents, 5 Civil Engineers and 5 Chemical Engineers, to determine the level of acceptability of the brick in terms of construction materials, procedures and design, and content ratio. It indicates no significant difference between the American Concrete Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard of brick and bricks made with discarded disposable face masks regarding compressive strength, water absorption and moisture content. Regarding compressive strength, the acquired mean of the ASTM is 37.9, while the Ecobrick acquired 36.87. The variance of ASTM was 136.66, while Ecobrick acquired 184.59. The T-computed value is -0.99. T-critical is 2.92 with an alpha level of 0.05 and degrees of freedom of 2.

Regarding water absorption, the acquired mean of the ASTM is 0.6, while the Ecobrick acquired 0.5. The variance of ASTM was 0.1576, while Ecobrick acquired 0.2097. The T-computed value is 2.148. T-critical is 2.92 with an alpha level of 0.05 and degrees of freedom of 2. Regarding moisture content, the acquired mean of ASTM is 0.0469, while Ecobrick obtained 0.0547. The variance of ASTM obtained 0.0001 while Ecobrick obtained 0.00003. The T-computed value is 1.17. T-critical is 2.92 with an alpha level of 0.05 and degrees of freedom of 2. Therefore, in all terms, the results accept Ho.