Transforming construction waste into eco-friendly foundations for lightweight housing: case study

Construction activities generate large quantities of waste materials, creating significant challenges for waste management and environmental sustainability. This study investigates the feasibility of reusing coarse-grained construction waste deposited in a landfill as a foundation for lightweight residential buildings. To assess its long-term engineering performance, in-situ plate load tests were carried out on landfill material that had been in place for approximately ten years, as well as on the underlying natural coarse- and fine-grained soils after removal of the landfill. The tests were performed under three ground conditions: natural moisture content, submerged conditions after three days of inundation, and full landfill flooding achieved by filling a surrounding trench with water once the applied stress reached 200 kPa and maintaining saturation for 24 hours. The results indicated that although the landfill exhibited a collapse at 200 kPa following saturation, the settlements recorded under both dry and submerged conditions remained within acceptable limits for lightweight structures.