An Overview of Wastes Recycling in Fired Clay Bricks

Brick is one of the most common masonry units as a building material due to its properties. Many attempts have been made to incorporate wastes into the production of bricks. For examples there are rubber, limestone dust, wood sawdust, processed waste tea, fly ash, polystyrene and sludge. Recycling such wastes by incorporating them into building materials is a practical solution for pollution problem. This paper reviews the recycling of different wastes into fired clay bricks. A wide range of successfully recycled materials and their effects on the physical and mechanical properties of bricks have been discussed. Most manufactured bricks with different types of waste have shown positive effects by producing lightweight brick, increased porosity and improved the thermal conductivities of fired clay bricks. Nevertheless, reduced performances in number of cases in terms of mechanical properties were also demonstrated.