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Ecological solid waste management enriches a strong, artistic, and naturally sound environment. Dump waste in open spaces or burn it, creating environmental pollution. Waste management comprises waste collecting, sorting, storing, recycling and discarding (Kaluli, Mwangi, Sira, 2011). To solve the problem, these wastes should be utilized in an innovative way to introduce eco-friendly new building materials which can provide a cheaper alternative to conventional building materials. According to Nasly and Yassin (2009), the use of these alternative building materials has the potential to reduce construction costs due to less conventional materials required and faster completion times.
Conventionally, stabilization of marginal soil is done with conventional building materials like lime, cement or combinations. The cost of these stabilizers increases due to the conditions of construction work in the tropics; thus, the need to substitute with local additives become imperative (Uche & Ahmed, 2013). Rice husk ash (Dolage, Mylvaganam, Mayoorathan & Inparatnam, 2011; Ghassan & Mahmud, 2010; Nilantha, Jiffry, Kumara, & Subashi, 2010; Oyekan & Kamiyo, 2008; Pushpakumara & Subashi De Silva, 2012), corn husk ash (Ndububa, Emmanuel, & Nurudeen, 2015), bamboo leaf ash (Dwivedia, Singhb, Dasa, & Singh, 2006), ground nut shell ash (Sadaa, Amarteyb, & Bako, 2013; Mahmoud, Belel, & Nwakaire, 2012), sawdust ash (Ganiron, 2014; D. Kumar, Singh, N. Kumar & Gupta, 2014) etc., are natural agricultural waste obtained from houses, shops, factories and mills. Hence, use of saw dust or saw dust ash for soil stabilization should be encouraged as it will considerably reduce the cost of construction and as well reduce the environmental hazards. Sawdust ash has been considered under pozzolana, contains 70-85% SiO2, 2-6% Al2O3, and 2-4% Fe2O3 (D. Kumar, Singh, N. Kumar & Gupta, 2014; Oyetola & Abdullahi, 2006). The silica contained in saw dust ash is in amorphous form meaning it can readily react with the CaOH that releases during hardening of cement to form cementations compound.
The production of cement produces carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a main donor to global warming. Cement production results in CO2 emissions of about 0.9% (Seco et al., 2012). Therefore, utilization of saw dust ash as a secondary cementitious material to partially replace proportions of the Ordinary Portland cement in soil stabilization will reduce the overall environmental impact of the soil stabilization process. Previous studies show that saw dust ash has potential to enhance the properties of cement blocks (Ganiron, 2014; D. Kumar, Singh, N. Kumar & Gupta, 2014; Berra, Mangialardi, & Paolini, 2015; Cheah & Ramli, 2011).