Abstract:
Increasing urbanization and industrialization have contributed for increased plastic generation in
Ethiopia. Unsafe disposal of waste plastic is a serious environmental problem. The application of
waste plastics to modify bitumen for asphalting of roads can possibly minimize those problems
since the polymer modified roads showed superior resistance to environmental stresses in
countries if the technology has been implemented. PET plastic bottle is generated daily in Bahir
Dar city and released as a waste after usage. Releasing them to the environment, they pose
negative impact to the environment. So to overcome such problem reducing solid disposal there
is an idea to utilize waste PET bottle plastic in bitumen modification for asphalt road
construction pavement using wet process technology. The conditions used were: plastic content
(0%, 2%, 3.5%, 5%, 6.5%, and 8%)by mass of bitumen, plain bitumen content in testing of its
maximum stability (4.5%, 5%,, 5.5%, and 6.5%) by mass of aggregates. The maximum stability
of plain bitumen was obtained at 5.2% and by conducting the test at this bitumen plastic mix
content, it was obtained maximum stability at 3.5% of plastic content. The modification and
aggregate mix average temperature was 180 0C. This result showed that strength of the modified
bitumen is improved which shows highly resistance against rutting and permanent deformation