The Evaluation Of Permeability Of Selected Plastic Bags As Alternative Component For Vapor Barriers

     Plastic is one of the most common materials used in the construction industry. Plastic films used as vapor barriers for underground insulation of low-rise buildings, however is not yet widely used especially in the Philippines. This is due to the fact that traditional construction of such type of buildings does not require the said material. As fast as the times are changing, modernization leads to modern infrastructure, and slowly, the country is adapting with the additional material depending on the said infrastructure.

     Now, some companies (like Dole) uses such type of material for concerns of structural bleeding, dampness, and moisture buildup of several facilities. This is in fact unavoidable since the Philippines is a tropical country. In the near future, Philippine infrastructures are going to have plastic sheets as its basic component, and will start to produce such material with fresh, virgin polyethylene resin; ergo, will result to a high demand of the material; ergo, will also contribute to the pollution.

     In this research, the plastic sheet used in the latter is alternatively replaced with everyday material, known as plastic bags. Determining the properties (e.g., permeability) of different plastic bags will determine which material would meet the standards-or somehow, yields a less similar result. Since plastic bags are existent, especially as residual waste, this study would conclusively contribute to the mitigation of pollution.