In 2022, RMIT tested shredded masks, rubber gloves and isolation gowns in concrete; gloves raised strength by up to 22% and masks by up to 17%

Every day since the pandemic began, an estimated 54,000 tonnes of PPE waste has been generated worldwide, according to RMIT University's research announcement. Almost all of it went straight to a landfill. In 2022, RMIT shredded masks, rubber gloves and isolation gowns and mixed them into concrete. Gloves increased strength by 22 percent, and masks increased compressive strength by up to 17 percent, according to that same announcement.

For years, disposable masks were everywhere you looked. You might see someone wearing a mask for a shift at work, on a subway ride, or during a quick grocery run, only to throw the disposable mask away right after. Billions of people had this habit, and the pile of trash grew much bigger than most of us ever realized. Around the world, people produced about 54,000 tonnes of PPE waste every day during the pandemic, and roughly 129 billion disposable face masks were used and discarded each month worldwide. Most of that trash ended up in a landfill, because disposable masks, gloves, and gowns are made of plastics that do not break down easily and cannot go in a normal recycling bin. A huge gap existed between the amount of PPE waste and the limited ways to reuse it. This prompted the RMIT School of Engineering team to look for a use for the PPE waste.

How shredded PPE made concrete stronger


Professor Jie Li led the research team, working with Dr Rajeev Roychand and PhD researcher Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch. They carried out three feasibility studies. In each one, they shredded one type of PPE. They mixed it into concrete in small amounts, between 0.1 percent and 0.25 percent of the total mix, according to the research summary published by RMIT.

The results differed by material, but all three improved concrete performance. Rubber gloves increased strength by up to 22 percent, the highest gain of the three materials tested. Isolation gowns increased resistance to bending stress by up to 21 percent, added 15 percent to strength, and increased elasticity by 12 percent, making them useful for multiple properties at once. Face masks increased strength by up to 17 percent, close behind the gains seen with rubber gloves. These results were published in peer-reviewed journals: Case Studies in Construction Materials (isolation gowns), Science of the Total Environment (rubber gloves), and the Journal of Cleaner Production (face masks).

Why this matters beyond the lab

This study offers a practical example of how waste could be reused in construction. It shows that a category of waste often sent to landfill can be turned into part of a functional building material. Kilmartin-Lynch described the project as a circular-economy response to healthcare waste and said better disposal solutions will still be needed after the pandemic. Professor Li said in RMIT's research announcement that disposable masks littering the streets illustrate the scale of the waste problem, and that even properly disposed masks still end up in landfill, a real-world observation that shaped the project's motivation, even though the lab tests themselves relied on new, unused PPE for safety reasons. The research team's industry partner, Casafico, is now working to use these findings in a real construction project rather than keeping them confined to a lab.

What this could mean for construction

Concrete is one of the most common building materials in the country, used in everything from apartment foundations to highway overpasses, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. If shredded PPE can eventually be added safely and consistently, it could help address both a growing supply of plastic waste and the ongoing need for stronger, more durable building materials.

Here is what the research does and does not show: the RMIT team described these studies as early‑stage feasibility studies, not a commercial product. Next steps include testing how different types of PPE perform when combined. It also involves finding ways to scale up the process. Finally, field trials are needed before the process could become standard practice. Instead, shredded masks, gloves, and gowns made the concrete stronger. Other scientists have since peer-reviewed the studies. None of this means a used mask from a flight will end up in the next building you enter. In a world that produced tens of thousands of tonnes of PPE waste every day during the pandemic, showing that this waste can strengthen rather than weaken a building material is a meaningful step. It is a step toward real-world use as the research moves beyond the lab.