Part-II: Natural and Applied Sciences ISSN-L: 2223-9553, ISSN: 2223-9944 Vol. 4 No. 1 January 2013         THE EFFECTS OF BAMBOO POWDER ON SOME MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF RECYCLED LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (RLDPE) COMPOSITES Innocent O. Eze 1 , Innocent C. Madufor 2 , Martin U. Obidiegwu 3 Department of Polymer, and Textile Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State. NIGERIA. 1 innocento4u@yahoo.com, 2 icmadufor@yahoo.com , 3 martindinma@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Despite the advantages that plastics have over the conventional materials, there are also some problems and challenges they pose to the industrial world. Many parts of the world including Nigeria face serious problems of managing the generation and disposal of plastic wastes. To reduce the volume of plastic wastes that go to landfills or litters the environment, there are three alternatives: recycling, incineration and biodegradation. In this research work, the effects of bamboo powder filler on some mechanical properties of recycled low density polyethylene (RLDPE) composites were studied. Pure water sachets and Bamboo stems were sourced. Recycling of Plastics (Low Density Polyethylene, LDPE) and the preparation of RLDPE/BP composites were carried out using locally made Laboratory-size Agglomerating Machine (agglomerator) and Single-Screw Extrusion Machine. The results of the mechanical tests carried out showed that the tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing filler loading for RLDPE composites while the stiffness (Young’s Modulus) of the composites increased with increasing filler loading. These results produced materials with lower void content that decreased the water sorption level with slight increase in the specific gravity of the composites. Bamboo powder incorporation to the RLDPE, also, enhanced the flame retardant property of the composites. Keywords: Recycled Low Density Polyethylene (RLDPE), Bamboo Powder (BP), Agglomerator, Extruder, Recycling, Filler. INTRODUCTION Polyethylene or polythene (IUPAC name polyethene or poly (ethylene)) is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in packaging and having the repeating mer molecule structural unit of (C 2 H 4 ) n . Over 60 million tons of the materials are produced worldwide every year. The recommended scientific name polyethylene is systematically derived from the scientific name of the monomer (Piringer & Baner, 2008; Carraher, 2010; Allcock et al., 2003). Being one of the classes of polyethylene, Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) was originally prepared some fifty years ago by the high pressure polymerization of ethylene. Its comparatively low density arises from the presence of a small amount of branching in the chain (on about 2% of the carbon atoms). This gives a more open structure. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is defined by a density range of 0.910-0.940g/cm 3 and a specific gravity of 0.92. It has a high degree of short and long chain branching, which means that the chains do not pack into the crystal structure as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/polyethylene; Crawford, 1998; Berins, 1991; Ward, 1983; Cardarelli, 2008). Materials systems which can be conveniently made to flow or deform into a desired shape or form, usually under heat and / or pressure, are commonly known as plastics. The binding