Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Sustainable pavement construction: A systematic literature review of

environmental and economic analysis of recycled materials
Safoura Salehi a, Mehrdad Arashpour a, *, Jayantha Kodikara a, Ross Guppy b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
b
Austroads, Brisbane QLD 4001, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling editor: Kathleen Aviso Large quantities of waste generated in the municipal, commercial and industrial and construction and demolition
sectors have caused widespread environmental issues. The replacement of virgin materials with recycled in
Keywords: pavement construction is a possible solution for waste management and achieving sustainability goals in the
Economic analysis infrastructure sector. There are, however, questions about environmental and economic impacts of waste-derived
Environmental analysis
materials in road construction that need to be answered. Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis are two
Life cycle assessment
approaches to quantify and assess the environmental performance and the costs of decisions regarding the se­
Life cycle cost analysis
Recycled material lection of materials for pavement construction. While considerable research has been conducted on pavement
Sustainable pavement materials, the impacts of particular materials such as recycled concrete aggregates, lignin, waste plastic, recycled
glass, crushed brick and crumb rubber are not currently well understood. This research presents a synthesis of the
state of the art of selected recycled materials in pavement construction and limitations of existing environmental
and economic analysis. A major interest towards recycling of materials and necessity of their sustainability
analysis is highlighted. The results indicate that the sustainability analysis of selected recycled materials is in its
infancy with considerable inconsistencies, hindering the meaningful comparison of results. Furthermore,
exclusion of impacts of maintenance, usage and end of life phases from sustainability analysis, impose uncer­
tainty on the long-term viability of these materials. Further research is needed to develop better understanding of
these impacts so that more informed decisions could be made by policy makers.

1. Introduction economical investment decisions (Wu et al., 2017). Sustainable pave­

Pavements are critical assets of transportation infrastructure (BTS,
2018). In 2017, a total of US$181 billion was spent on highways by U.S
infrastructure, making it the largest infrastructure spending (Highway
Statistics, 2018). Most road investments are related to pavement mate­
rials (de Lima et al., 2013). Considerable investment is also required for
maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) of pavements. These massive
investments represent an opportunity for decision makers to identify
cost-effective pavement designs (Lu et al., 2018).
Construction of pavements also requires energy-intensive processes
and materials with adverse impacts on the environment (Santos et al.,
2015). The environmental impacts of pavements extend far beyond
material production and construction and also involve interactions of
pavement and vehicles (Santero et al., 2011).
Road authorities encourage sustainable practices to alleviate the
negative environmental impacts of pavements and make more
ments are highly dependent on the selection of appropriate materials.
Utilization of waste materials is one of the sustainable strategies with
regard to pavement materials (Plati, 2019). Waste materials can be used
as aggregate or bitumen replacement in different layers of pavement
structures (Zhao et al., 2020a) and include but are not limited to
reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), fly ash (FA), bottom ash (BA),
recycled asphalt shingles, lignin, waste plastic, crushed brick, recycled
glass and crumb rubber (Norgbey et al., 2020; Plati, 2019).
The sustainability of pavements can be measured in various ways by
relevant methods or tools, including pavement performance assessment,
life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), life cycle assessment (LCA) and sus­
tainability rating systems. LCCA and LCA are two approaches to quantify
and address the economic and environmental components of the sus­
tainability of products throughout their life cycle (Harvey et al., 2016).
LCCA is a methodology for the evaluation of initial and future costs
of pavements. For road and transport agencies, these costs include

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Mehrdad.Arashpour@monash.edu (M. Arashpour).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127936
Received 22 January 2021; Received in revised form 5 May 2021; Accepted 12 June 2021
Available online 16 June 2021
0959-6526/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Salehi et al.
production, construction, M&R, and end-of-life (EOL) costs (Batouli
et al., 2017). The Federal Highway Administration provides guidelines
for conducting LCCA, consisting of several steps (Walls and Smith,
1998). In the first step, different design alternatives and the service life
of each option are identified, using historical experience or pavement
management systems analysis. M&R strategies, including the duration
and frequencies of work-zone operations, are also determined (Guven
et al., 2008). In the next step, agency costs based on construction
quantities and unit prices are estimated, followed by the determination
of user costs based on M&R activities and specific traffic data. After
identifying and estimating all cost categories, an appropriate economic
indicator is selected and the discounted monetary value of expected
costs is calculated (Walls and Smith, 1998). Net present value (NPV) and
equivalent uniform annual cost (EUAC) are two common economic in­
dicators used for LCCA of pavements (Moins et al., 2020). Results of
LCCA can be analyzed using either deterministic or probabilistic ap­
proaches (Wang and Wang, 2019). Based on the results of analysis, the
design, work-zone configurations or rehabilitation strategies are
reviewed and the most economical pavement designs are determined
(Guven et al., 2008).
For sustainability assessment of pavements, it is important to
consider the costs associated with all life cycle phases. The production
costs of waste-derived pavements include the recycling costs of waste
materials, extraction, acquisition and the production costs of raw ma­
terials (Harvey et al., 2016). These costs cover the expenditure on
equipment, labor, transportation of materials and energy (Van Dam
et al., 2015). Costs associated with plant processes include costs of en­
ergy for mixing, heating and drying of materials (Li et al., 2013). Several
components are associated with the production phase of waste-derived
materials which cause higher costs for road agencies such as extra ma­
terials, additives, equipment, and labor (Zhao et al., 2020b). Field pro­
cesses, including transportation of mixtures and equipment, site
cleaning, excavation, construction and compaction of road layers,
constitute the construction costs of pavements (Vidal et al., 2013). Cost
components associated with construction processes include trans­
portation of machinery and materials, equipment, labor, storage and
safety measures (Santos et al., 2015). Through the service life of pave­
ments, a set of M&R works is undertaken to maintain the serviceability
of pavements (Harvey et al., 2016). Cost components of M&R activities
are similar to those for the construction phase (Santos et al., 2015). At
the end of the pavement’s service life, milled or demolished pavements
can be recycled, re-used, or disposed of Costs associated with EOL phase
include disposal fees, transportation, labor and deconstruction (Moins
et al., 2020).
Throughout pavements’ lifespan, the interaction between vehicles
and pavement changes the characteristics of the pavement surface.
Therefore, frequencies of maintenance activities, pavement
Fig. 1. LCA types of waste-derived pavement.
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
serviceability and finally user costs change (Harvey et al., 2016). User
costs are incurred by drivers during normal and work-zone operations
and generally are classified into vehicle operating costs (VOC), crash
costs and user delay costs (Walls, 1998).
LCA is a comprehensive method for the evaluation of environmental
impacts of products or services supply chains from a life cycle
perspective and can be used in conjunction with LCCA in decision-
making processes.(Santos et al., 2017). LCA can be applied to the full
life cycle of pavements (cradle to grave LCA), from raw material
extraction to the end of construction (cradle to laid LCA) or from raw
material extraction to the end of plant processes (cradle to gate LCA)
(Fig. 1).
The LCA framework is divided into four steps: goal and scope defi­
nition, life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), life cycle impact assessment
(LCIA) and interpretation. The goal and scope definition involve the
determination of system boundaries, the analysis period, and functional
units (FUs). Either attributional LCA (ALCA) or consequential LCA
(CLCA) can be chosen, depending on the goals of the study (Interna­
tional Organization for Standardization, 2006). In ALCA environmental
impacts are estimated without consideration of consequences outside
the product life cycle. However, CLCA provides knowledge of the po­
tential environmental impacts of changes in products both inside and
outside the life cycle (Reap et al., 2008). The second step of LCA refers to
the collection and integration of primary or secondary data for life cycle
phases. For each process involved in the system boundary, the flows of
energy, materials, emissions and waste have to be identified (Interna­
tional Organization for Standardization, 2006). For the compilation of
life cycle inventories, three different approaches are available:
process-based LCA (P-LCA), economic input-output LCA (EIO-LCA), and
(3) hybrid LCA. In P-LCA, inputs and outputs of all processes involved in
a product life cycle are analyzed (Santos et al., 2017). EIO-LCA is a more
comprehensive approach for quantification of the overall environmental
impacts of a product based on the transactions of inputs and the direct
environmental emissions of the entire supply chain of a product. Hybrid
LCA is a combination of EIO-LCA and P-LCA to reduce the exclusion of
processes from the analysis and maintain the completeness of the
studied system (Suh et al., 2004). Translation of LCI results into envi­
ronmental impacts is achieved by LCIA. In this step, inventory results are
assigned to impact categories based on predefined scientific assessment
methods. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are developed
based on the results of the LCI and LCIA (International Organization for
Standardization, 2006).
Several studies have already reviewed the existing LCCA (Moins
et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2020b) and the LCA literature (Azarijafari et al.,
2016; Inyim et al., 2016; Jiang and Wu, 2019) on pavements, of which a
few have focused on waste materials (Moins et al., 2020; Santero et al.,
2011). The aforementioned studies investigated common recycled
S. Salehi et al.
materials such as RAP, FA and BA. A review of literature shows that
other materials such as waste plastic, lignin, waste glass and crushed
brick have the potential to be used in pavements with considerable
benefits. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive study of the
environmental and economic impacts of these materials in pavements.
This paper presents a systematic review to investigate the economic
and environmental evaluations of waste-derived materials in pave­
ments. A special focus is given to lignin, recycled glass, recycled plastic
and crushed brick because of their unexplored environmental and eco­
nomic impacts, with an update on common waste materials, including
recycled concrete aggregates and crumb rubber. The findings arising
from this systematic literature review fulfill the following objectives:
(1): To draw a full picture of the applications of recycled materials in
pavement construction and values of waste materials not only as a
replacement of aggregates but as a modifier or substitute of binders; (2):
To summarize current implementations of environmental and economic
analyses in pavement construction from a life cycle perspective; (3): To
identify the shortcomings of the body of work to date in order to point
out research gaps and possible future research directions.
The paper is organized according to the six selected materials. After
the introduction, the research methods of this systematic review are
described in Section 2. Section 3 reviews the environmental analysis of
selected recycled materials and the abundance and source of materials.
Section 4 presents the current state of economic analysis of selected
materials in pavement construction. Section 5 outlines gaps in the
research on both environmental and economic analysis and investigates
future research directions. A summary of the review and final conclu­
sions are presented in Section 6.
2. Research methods
For the purpose of this study, a comprehensive literature review was
conducted on the basis of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Moher et al., 2009).
In this method eligibility criteria, as shown in (Fig. 2), were developed
for the inclusion of the existing body of knowledge on the concept of
sustainability assessment of pavements. Alongside the selection of pa­
pers based on the PRISMA method, the so-called snowball approach was
used to gather all relevant studies by checking citations to and in papers
(Wohlin, 2014).
The Scopus database was selected as the primary source for literature
Fig. 2. Process of literature selection for content analysis.
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
exploration. To ensure the inclusion of all relevant publications, several
keyword strings were selected including (“life cycle assessment” or
“LCA”), (“life cycle cost analysis” or “LCCA”), (“waste material” or
“recycled material”), and (“road” or “pavement”), and as a result, 492
documents were found. Any duplicates were then removed and several
exclusion and inclusion criteria were utilized to filter results and obtain
an acceptable final range of papers. The most relevant studies were
screened and selected based on their consistency with the research ob­
jectives and according to their source type, keywords, title, and abstract
for the six selected materials: RCA, lignin, WP, RG, CB and CR. Finally,
selected studies were evaluated in a descriptive manner by quantitative
content analysis to enable replicable and traceable conclusions to be
drawn based on the qualitative data in the literature (Arashpour et al.,
2021) and the following categories were extracted: 1) environmental
analysis; and 2) economic analysis.
3. Environmental analysis of waste materials
The following section reviews the environmental analyses and im­
pacts of the incorporation of selected recycled materials in pavement
and their abundance and sources. Overviews of LCA studies concerning
aggregate replacement materials including RCA, waste glass and
crushed brick, and bitumen replacement materials including waste
plastic, lignin and crumb rubber are presented in Table 1 and Table 2,
respectively.
3.1. Recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs)
Recycled concrete aggregates are composed of aged concrete ag­
gregates, bricks, glass, gypsums and ceramics, which are mostly gener­
ated during the construction and demolition of old concrete pavements
and buildings. Concrete aggregates are the main component of RCAs
(Pasandín and Pérez, 2015). The use of RCAs in pavements is expo­
nentially increasing due to the decreasing availability of landfills for the
disposal of construction and demolition wastes (CDWs), the high costs of
transportation and disposal of waste materials and insufficient virgin
aggregates (Huang, 2007; Hyder Consulting, 2011).
Utilization of RCAs in road bases is considered an environmentally
friendly practice on rural roads without any risk of contamination to
either the underground or groundwater (Jimenez et al., 2012). Results of
leachate tests on a range of contaminant constituents on CDWs also
S. Salehi et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936

Table 1
Summary of LCAs of selected aggregate replacement materials.
Material Source Application Assessed Structure Analysis Period FU Physical Boundary
(years)
Asphalt Concrete
Pavement Pavement

RCA Jain et al. (2020) Sub-base NA NA 1t NA

Bloom et al. Aggregate replacement, ✓ 50 1t Mainlines, ramps
(2016) Embankment filling
Shi et al. (2019) aggregate replacement ✓ 27 1t 12.8-Km long, 14.4 m
wide, 25 cm thick
Rosado et al. Base, Sub-base NA NA 1 t of aggregates NR
(2017)
Bloom et al. Base NA NA NR NR
(2016)
Zhang et al. Embankment filling NA NA 1 m3 NA
(2020)
Shaikh et al. Aggregate replacement ✓ 20, 100, 500 Compressive strength of 1 NA
(2019) MPa for concrete mixes
Mei et al. (2018) Base NA 100 1 t of managed CDW NA
Vega et al. Aggregate replacement ✓ 10 1 km 1 km long, 3.5 m wide
(2020)
Marinković et al. Aggregate replacement, ✓ NA 1 m3 of Ready- mixed NA
(2013) base and sub-base concrete, 1 Kg of aggregate
WG Tahmoorian Aggregate replacement ✓ NA 1 t of HMA Asphalt surface course
et al. (2019)
2
Huang et al. Base, Aggregate ✓ 12 for surface course, 30,000 M of asphalt Carriageway surface
(2009) replacement 15 For binder course surface course, binder course,
base
Zhang et al. Embankment filling NA NA 1 m3 NA
(2020b)
Hossain et al. Aggregate replacement NA NA 1 t of recycled fine and NA
(2016) coarse Aggregates from
CDW
CB Shaikh et al. Aggregate replacement ✓ 20, 100, 500 Compressive strength of 1 NA
(2019) MPa for concrete mixes

Notes: NA: Not applicable; NR: Not Reported.

Table 2
Summary of LCAs of selected bitumen replacement materials.
Material Source Application Analysis Period FU Physical Boundaries
(years)

WP Guðmundsdóttir (2018) Binder modifier 8.5 1 km 6 m wide, 4.5 cm thick

Gulotta et al. (2019) Binder modifier 20 1m2 Carriageway, friction, binder, and unbound base
course
Yu et al. (2014) Binder modifier NA 1 t of asphalt NA
Vila-Cortavitarte et al. Binder modifier NA 1 km Wearing Course
(2018)
Praticò et al. (2020) Binder modifier NA 1 m2 Two-Lane, single Carriageway, 9.5 m Wide, 1 km
Long,
Santos et al. (2020) Bitumen modifier, aggregate NA 3 different declared 3.5 m wide, 1 km long, 4 cm thick
replacement units
Lignin Chiu et al. (2008) Bitumen replacement 40 1 km 2.65 m wide, 1 km long, 5 cm thick
Tokede et al. (2020) Bitumen replacement NA 1 t of asphalt Mainline pavement
CR Chiu et al. (2008) Aggregate replacement 40 1 km Asphalt overlay, 2.65 wide, 1 km long, 5 cm thick
Hossain et al. (2016) Fine aggregate NA 1t NA
Farina et al. (2017) Binder modifier, aggregate 20 1m Wearing course, carriageway, 9.5 m wide, 1 km long
replacement
Bressi et al. (2019) Aggregate replacement NA 1 km Base course 10 cm thick, 15 m wide, 2 carriageways,
4 lanes
White et al. (2010) Bitumen replacement Various 1 km/year Top surface layer and aggregate base, 2-lane, 12 Ft
each lane width
Yu et al. (2014a) Bitumen replacement NA 1 t of asphalt NA

Notes: NA: Not applicable; NR: Not Reported.

show that RCAs can be used as an alternative backfilling material
without compromising environmental sustainability (Rahman et al.,
2014). However, results of another study at demolition and crushing
sites show that reprocessing of CDWs increases crystalline silica expo­
sure for construction workers and causes lung diseases (Bello et al.,
2019).
Several LCA studies have been performed on RCAs at different levels
of pavement structure. Bloom et al. (2016a,b) conducted an ALCA on
RCAs as a replacement for virgin aggregates in pavements. A comparison
of environmental impacts of virgin and recycled materials from
cradle-to-gate showed larger impacts during the process phase for RCAs.
These impacts have been justified by the higher fuel consumption of
RCAs reprocessing due to their greater weight. By expansion of system
boundaries to cradle-to-grave, replacement of virgin aggregates with
RCAs resulted in significant environmental savings in terms of CO2
emissions, water and energy consumption (Del Ponte et al., 2017). A

4
S. Salehi et al.
similar study by Bloom et al. (2016) on RCAs as a replacement of base
aggregate and embankments in rural and urban roadways also showed
the benefits of rural construction over urban due to the in situ recycling
of RCAs and the elimination of offsite transportation.
Rosado et al. (2017) conducted a comparative ALCA on the pro­
duction of virgin and mixed recycled aggregates (MixRA) containing
RCAs. Normalization of results for most of the impact categories
confirmed that there is an advantage in using MixRA because its pro­
duction requires fewer processes than virgin aggregates. Handling and
transportation of MixRA to customers contributed to the main envi­
ronmental burdens.
Shaikh et al. (2019) assessed the sustainability of different concrete
mixes containing a maximum of 100% CDWs. The results of their studies
indicated that substitution of 50% of virgin aggregates with RCAs could
have lower impacts in terms of the global warming potential (GWP) and
embodied energy. They also pointed out the negligible impacts for the
transportation of materials. Same results were reported by Zhang et al.
(2020) for the use of RCAs in subgrades and the benefits of CDWs
recycling. The application of RCAs in pavements, addressing trans­
portation distances and mining activities, was explored in a study by Mei
et al. (2018). They stated that LCA results are sensitive to transportation
distances and it is possible to maximize environmental impact savings
by minimizing the distance between waste producers and recycled ma­
terial demand points.
The environmental impacts of virgin aggregate replacement with
RCAs in Portland cement concrete were studied by Shi et al. (2019) in an
EIO-LCA. The results showed higher impacts during the use phase of
RCAs due to greater pavement roughness and lower impacts during the
material production and construction phases due to the reduction of
virgin aggregates and waste disposal.
A comparative study by Vega et al. (2020) attempted to provide a
cradle-to-laid LCA on the use of RCAs in hot mix asphalt (HMA) as a
partial replacement for coarse aggregates. The results showed that the
incorporation of RCAs in HMAs reduces all TRACI impact categories. A
sensitivity analysis was performed on the moisture content of RCAs and
it indicated that some of the impact categories, such as ozone depletion,
human health, particulates and GWP, are significantly affected by
changes in the moisture content.
3.2. Recycled glass (RG)
Around 6.8 million tons of glass are sent to landfills annually in US
(US EPA, 2019) which is mostly produced from household waste
(Arulrajah et al., 2020). The use of RG in pavements reduces the demand
for new resources and virgin quarried materials (Wong et al., 2020).
The application of RG in pavements may not be advisable without
consideration of its environmental aspects (Tahmoorian. et al., 2019).
Previous research has shown that using recycled cullet benefits glass­
makers in terms of energy and mineral resources savings (Krivtsov et al.,
2004). The results of chemical and environmental tests have also shown
negligible leachate contamination hazards of RG during the service life
of pavements and the suitability of their use in embankments (Disfani
et al., 2012).
Few LCA studies have questioned the environmental impacts of using
RG in pavements. A comparative LCA study, which aimed to study the
viability of using RG in HMA, indicated a considerable reduction in
energy consumption and environmental impacts of the production of
asphalt mixtures (Tahmoorian et al., 2019). However, the results of
another study showed that use of RG does not change the environmental
burdens of asphalt production and only reduces the fuel consumption
and emissions of roadworks (Huang et al., 2009).
Similarly, comparison of HMA incorporating RG (Glassphalt) and
traditional HMA, with the same service life for both mixtures, showed
slight benefits for Glassphalt. Glassphalt had negative impacts on the
ecological footprint, taking into account different service lives for mix­
tures (Chiu et al., 2008). The results of this study confirmed that the
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
reduction of virgin material content in asphalt mixtures does not
necessarily lead to more environmentally friendly solutions.
3.3. Crushed brick (CB)
Crushed brick is one of the main components of CDWs. A blend of
recycled CB is usually composed of 70% brick and 30% other waste
materials. In comparison with virgin quarried materials, CB has
considerable carbon savings and its utilization may result in a low car­
bon solution in the infrastructure sector. Virgin resources can also be
conserved by the substitution of coarse aggregates with CB (Arulrajah
et al., 2014).
Although there may be some mechanical performance improvements
associated with the use of CB in pavements, some negative impacts on
the environment are expected. Asphalt mixtures with CB have higher
viscosity ranges for compaction and consequently higher compaction
temperatures which require additional energy and cause the emission of
more GHGs (Wu et al., 2011).
Although there are some LCA studies on CDWs containing CB, they
do not focus on the application of CB separately. A comparison of the
environmental impacts of the production of recycled aggregates from
CDWs and natural aggregates showed a reduction in GHG emissions and
savings in energy consumption for the recycled scenario. Lower damage
to human health, climate change, resources and ecosystems have also
been recorded for recycled aggregates (Hossain et al., 2016). Similarly,
considerable savings in energy consumption and GHG emissions have
been reported for concrete mixes containing CB (Shaikh et al., 2019).
Results of a comparative LCA between recycling and landfilling of
CDWs showed that the environmental benefits of recycling outweigh
energy-intensive recycling processes. Recycling is also beneficial in
terms of land and water use. These benefits are dependent on trans­
portation distance and recycling plant efficiency (Jain et al., 2020). CB is
also beneficial for filling sub-grade layers in terms of GWP, acidification,
ecotoxicity, dust and eutrophication. However, acidification and dust
are the most critical environmental impacts that need to be considered
(Zhang et al., 2020).
3.4. Waste plastic (WP)
Due to the rapid increase in plastic consumption from 288 million
tons in 2012 to 359 million tons in 2018 (Plastics Europe, 2019), sig­
nificant quantities of waste plastics are generated, and this has become
one of the most pressing environmental issues (Rigamonti et al., 2014).
Plastics are categorized into seven different groups with various prop­
erties, applications and material compositions including high-density
polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl
chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP),
polystyrene (PS) and miscellaneous plastics (Simoneit et al., 2005).
The energy and water consumption of mechanical recycling of post-
consumer plastics show that the production of recycled pellets from
waste plastic requires less energy and water than the production of
virgin plastic. However, chemical separation and sorting in the recycling
plant produce more solid waste (Pinsky et al., 2019).
The environmental analysis of an anti-glare lamella made with
recycled HDPE and its comparison with virgin HDPE showed a consid­
erable reduction in the consumption of non-renewable resources and
GHG emissions (Simões et al., 2014). Results of a study by Vasudevan
et al. (2012) on aggregates coated with waste plastics in a so-called dry
process indicated that polymer-coated aggregate can be considered as an
environmentally-friendly material. Thermal analysis verified the
completion of the dry process without toxic fumes.
An environmental assessment of plastic-rubber asphalt from cradle
to gate and its comparison with SBS asphalt showed a reduction in GHGs
and energy consumption in the recycled scenario (Yu et al., 2014).
Stressing the importance of maintenance and EOL phases, Gulotta et al.
(2019) evaluated the energy demand and GHG emissions of an urban
S. Salehi et al.
road by the application of an ALCA. The results of the study highlighted
that the EOL phase has the highest contribution in the eutrophication
potential impact category, while the replacement of the friction course
layer accounted for around 20% of the total gross energy requirement
(GER).
Depending on the system boundaries, the application of PS may
reduce the environmental impacts of asphalt mixtures. Vila-Cortavitarte
et al. (2018) reported that the incorporation of PS resulted in the
extension of service life and the reduction of the environmental index.
However, the inclusion of the secondary material (PS) burdens resulted
in unfavorable impacts.
The influence and magnitude of each life cycle phase on the overall
environmental impacts of asphalt mixtures containing WP have been
identified in a more comprehensive LCA study. The breakdown of en­
ergy consumption by life cycle phases showed the same GER for the
transportation and EOL phases and the highest contribution for asphalt
production. In comparison with a base scenario, utilization of 10% WP
by weight of bitumen in pavement posed lower environmental burdens
on all impact indicators and improved freshwater ecotoxicity during the
production and maintenance phases (Praticò et al., 2020). A compara­
tive LCA study by Santos et al. (2020) also showed the significant
environmental benefits of waste plastic-modified asphalt in comparison
with SBS-modified asphalt. However, these benefits were not consider­
able for the replacement of virgin aggregates with waste plastics. The
results of this study also showed greater electricity consumption for the
production of recycled plastic pellets, resulting in remarkable negative
impacts on climate change. A sensitivity analysis of LCA results on
transportation distance also indicated the importance of the proximity of
material recovery facilities to asphalt plants (Santos et al., 2020).
3.5. Lignin
Lignin, a waste product of paper production and the pulp industry, is
one of the most abundant biopolymers on the Earth (Boerjan et al.,
2003). Currently the worldwide production of lignin is around 50–70
million tons per year, most of which is either burned or discarded
(Mandlekar et al., 2018).
Although lignin is a waste product, it can be used in the construction
industry. The use of lignin-asphalt could significantly reduce the de­
pendency of road infrastructure on fossil fuels (Tokede et al., 2020), as it
is suitable as a bitumen replacement material (Khandelwal, 2019).
Lignin has the potential to be used in pavement construction as a sub­
stitute of bitumen up to 25% (Van Vliet et al., 2016), as well as an
asphalt binder modifier in both HMA and WMA (Xie et al., 2017).
Another practice is the use of lignin as an alternative precursor in carbon
fiber reinforced polymers (Das, 2011), which can be used within the
upper depth of the pavement for bridge decking (Fang et al., 2017).
Several studies have been conducted on the environmental impacts
of the production phase of lignin-based products, and the utilization of
lignin in various industries has a number of desirable environmental
benefits. Bijleveld (2017) and Manninen (2010) reported GHG emission
reductions from the production of lignin-based biofuels. The assessment
of the environmental impacts of the use of lignin as precursor in CFRPs
also showed lower energy demands and climate impacts than current
CFRPs (Hermansson et al., 2019). An LCA study of lignin-based carbon
fibers by Das (2011) showed that the production of lignin-based carbon
fiber requires about 5% less energy than conventional carbon fiber. The
results of a study by Batista (2018) showed that since lignin does not
increase the release of volatile matter during the production of asphalt
mixtures, it does not have any negative impact on human health or the
environment. Reductions in direct and indirect emissions of GHGs were
further benefits of the replacement of bitumen with Kraft lignin in
porous asphalt (Khandelwal, 2019). These benefits were also confirmed
for lignin-asphalt mixtures in the long term. The results of an uncer­
tainty analysis of the extraction and production phases revealed that the
use of lignin alleviates GHG emissions from road projects by up to 20%
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
(Tokede et al., 2020).
3.6. Crumb rubber (CR)
In 2017, 9.1 million tons of rubber and leather were generated in the
United States, which is equivalent to 3.4 per cent of the total generated
MSW. Crumb rubber is mainly sourced from trucks and automotive
scrap tires (EPA, 2019).
There is growing interest in the use of CR in the infrastructure in­
dustry due to the increasing amount of waste rubber (Kalkornsurapranee
et al., 2009), the negative environmental impacts of waste rubber
stockpiles and landfill operations (Oikonomou and Mavridou, 2009),
and the pressure to reduce the use of natural resources in the con­
struction industry (Mohajerani et al., 2020).
Despite the favorable geotechnical applications and unique proper­
ties of CR, there are some environmental concerns related to their im­
plications in terms of leachate (Mohajerani et al., 2020). The results of
leachate tests showed that leachate concentrations of rubberized
modified binders and rubber granulates violate allowable limits (Azizian
et al., 2003). However, this is not the case for rubberized concrete if the
proportion thresholds are respected (Kardos and Durham, 2015).
White et al. (2010) developed a formula to calculate the contribution
of mixing and production of rubberized asphalt in GWP. The results
showed substantial reductions in the emission of GHGs for rubberized
asphalt in comparison with HMA and PCC pavement. Farina et al.
(2017) also compared the environmental impacts of HMAs containing
CR by means of wet and dry technology. Different service lives, thick­
nesses and maintenance scenarios were considered for each technology
in order to confirm the effectiveness of these parameters in terms of total
environmental benefits. Considering the induced and avoided impacts of
CR treatment and recycling of co-products in CR production plants,
lower environmental impacts in terms of energy saving, human health,
and resource depletion were found for the wet technology. However,
standard HMA and dry technology had equivalent results in terms of
GWP and GER (Farina et al., 2017).
In another study, Bressi et al. (2019) determined the additional
emissions of rubber treatment and resource consumption in asphalt
mixtures containing CR. A higher percentage of virgin binder is required
when rubber is added to the bituminous mixture. Moreover, the use of
rubber causes some additional environmental impacts. The results
showed the adverse impact of the use of CR on the overall environmental
performance of asphalt mixtures.
Wang et al. (2018) concluded that, while the production of rubber­
ized asphalt is very energy consuming, the utilization of CR reduces the
energy consumption and environmental impacts of asphalt mixtures due
to the extension of pavement service life, the consumption of less virgin
material and noise reduction. Similar results for emissions of noise and
fumes were reported for the use of CR in the construction of SMA using a
new dry-hybrid technology (Sangiorgi et al., 2018). Monitoring and
sampling of both workers and operation site pollutants showed that the
presence of CR in asphalt mixtures reduces the risk of exposure to
respirable dust particles for workers and is a more
environmentally-friendly option (Sangiorgi et al., 2018). The incorpo­
ration of two different additives, Sasobit and Polyethylene (PE) wax, in
rubberized Terminal Blend (TB) asphalt binder also reduces the health
risks to workers due to the reduction in emissions of asphalt fumes
compared with a base asphalt binder. Considerable reductions in energy
consumption and emission of GHGs have also been reported for TB
binder with the above additives (Wen et al., 2018).
4. Economic analysis of waste materials
This section reviews and analyses the economic impacts of the uti­
lization of RCA, lignin, waste plastic, crushed glass, crumb rubber and
crushed brick as alternative materials in pavement construction. A brief
summary of existing LCCA studies with a consideration of the cost
S. Salehi et al.
components is presented in Table 3.
4.1. Recycled concrete aggregates
From an economic perspective, the incorporation of RCA in HMA
reduces production costs. Considering the cost of CA recycling, signifi­
cant economic benefits have been found for an asphalt mixture with
15% RCA; however, by increasing the quantity of recycled material, the
total cost of the mixture increased (Al-Bayati et al., 2018).
The average cost of CA landfilling is about 1.75 times greater than its
utilization in subgrade (Zhang et al., 2020). The feasibility of using RCA
in embankments and bases has been studied in an LCCA and significant
savings in terms of the materials, processes, construction and mainte­
nance costs have been observed for highway construction projects
(Bloom et al., 2016).
A cost-benefit analysis of the use of RCA in concrete mixtures has also
shown economic benefits due to savings in landfill and material costs.
Significant project-wide savings can also be obtained by using RCA in
regions with limited virgin aggregate resources (Verian et al., 2013). It
has been reported that RCA-PCC is more economical in terms of trans­
portation and virgin aggregates costs, although it has a shorter life span
than conventional PCC (Reza and Wilde, 2017). A similar life span can
be achieved by either increasing the slab thickness or modifying the
concrete mix. The cost of increasing cementitious content is compen­
sated by the substitution of virgin aggregates with RCA (Reza and Wilde,
2017). The use of RCA as a secondary material in PCC and road base can
significantly reduce total costs (Mei et al., 2018). Cost savings associated
with the use of various percentages of recycled aggregates in concrete
mixtures have been the focus of previous studies (Shaikh et al., 2019).
Comparisons of the economic burdens of RCA-PCC and plain concrete
from material production to the EOL phase showed positive effects on
material production and construction costs for the recycled scenario.
However, RCA-PCC was found to have higher costs during the use phase,
which are attributed to the roughness of pavement surfaces and con­
sumption of more fuel (Shi et al., 2019).
4.2. Recycled glass
RG in cement and concrete production provides significant economic
benefits. However, some glass cannot be recycled due to impurities and
the associated recycling costs (Shi and Zheng, 2007). The results of a
cost-benefit analysis showed that although the total material cost of
concrete production with RG sand increases, the incorporation of glass
sand in concrete is feasible due to the reduction of the management costs
of waste materials and the avoided environmental impacts (Zhao et al.,
2013). The use of RG as coarse aggregate in concrete mixture also
resulted in cost savings (Topçu and Canbaz, 2004). A cost analysis of the
production of waste glass activators in alkali-activated materials (AAMs)
also showed favorable results for the recycled scenario in comparison
with commercial activators. It was acknowledged that the highest cost of
alkali-activated-materials is attributed to the use of commercial activa­
tors, which can be over 75% of the total cost. Therefore, waste glass
powder is a potential activator in AAMs, providing lower cost produc­
tion of Portland cement (Samarakoon et al., 2020).
4.3. Crushed brick
A cost-benefit analysis of CDW recycling plants has shown the eco­
nomic feasibility of recycling centers based on the consideration of fixed,
equipment, labor, certification and operating costs (Zhao et al., 2010).
The construction industry can benefit from the reuse and recycling of
CDWs. Such benefits include, but are not limited to, the revenue from
selling CDWs, and the cost savings related to landfill tipping fees, waste
collection and transportation (Begum et al., 2006).
One of the barriers to the implementation of CDWs in the construc­
tion industry is the sorting and recycling costs (Dahlbo et al., 2015).
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
From an economic perspective, transportation, distance, sorting, the
quantity and composition of CDWs in the region and the price of raw
materials have impacts on CB costs (Dahlbo et al., 2015; Zhao et al.,
2010). Recycling costs such as size reduction, cleaning of impurities,
agglomeration and quality inspection also affect the total costs of the
recycled material (Keskisaari and Kärki, 2018).
The use of CB in backfills reduces the need to purchase and import
new granular materials from quarries and disposal costs of excavated
materials (Rahman et al., 2014). Economic analysis of the use of CDWs
containing CB in subgrade in comparison with a landfilling scenario has
indicated the economic benefits of recycling, even considering trans­
portation, disposal and construction costs (Zhang et al., 2020). A cost
comparison of a concrete mixture containing CB with a conventional
concrete mixture also showed savings in labor, transport, manufacturing
and material costs (Shaikh et al., 2019).
4.4. Waste plastic
Around 60% of the cost of an asphalt mixture is dedicated to
bitumen; therefore, the reduction of bitumen content even by a small
quantity, reduces costs considerably. However, if the performance of a
mixture is adversely affected, extra maintenance costs are imposed on
road authorities (White and Reid, 2018). Waste plastics can be used as
asphalt modifiers in pavements. The quantity of bitumen required in
modified asphalt is less than that in standard asphalt, which results in
lower bitumen costs (Vasudevan et al., 2012). Meanwhile, the com­
mercial cost of waste plastics depends on the recycling processes
required and may compromise the cost effectiveness of bitumen
replacement by waste plastic (Vila-Cortavitarte et al., 2018). Replace­
ment of bitumen with waste plastics is more feasible in remote locations
due to the lower transportation costs of waste plastics in these regions
(White and Reid, 2018).
Modification of bitumen with polymers increases the production cost
of pavements. Nevertheless, they are more cost-effective than unmodi­
fied pavement due to their longer service life (Souliman et al., 2016) and
reduced pavement thickness (Downer, 2018). The average production
and transport costs of plastic modifiers are about 2–5% more than those
of standard asphalt (Downer, 2018). Due to its greater rutting and
cracking resistance, lower M&R costs are expected for plastic-modified
asphalt (Vasudevan et al., 2012). Better fracture and deformation per­
formance may provide to 5% savings to road agencies (White and Reid,
2018). In terms of the infrastructure required, plastic-modified asphalts
are economically superior as they do not require any new technology or
machinery (Chakrapani et al., 2014).
4.5. Lignin
Petroleum-based products such as bitumen have fluctuating prices.
Partial replacement of bitumen with lignin reduces the dependency on
these products and decreases the environmental burdens of bitumen
production. However, some economic disadvantages are associated with
the production of lignin-based products which outweigh their environ­
mental benefits (Tokede et al., 2020).
The recovery cost of lignin and the associated technologies at an
industrial scale is one of the factors that must be considered in feasibility
studies of lignin-based products (Dessbesell et al., 2018). The extraction
of lignin is a costly process. This economic burden is attributed to the
cost of lignin extraction technologies that can be compensated by
increasing the market price and production rate of lignin (Benali et al.,
2016).
It is not economically justifiable to replace bitumen with lignin, as
the initial cost estimation for extraction of lignin and bitumen shows a
higher price for lignin (Benali et al., 2016). However, the feasibility of
extracting and replacing lignin in pavement may increase if the price of
bitumen continues to rise in future (Tokede et al., 2020).
The high cost of lignin-precursor carbon fibers is also one of the main
 S. Salehi et al.

Table 3
Summary of LCCAs of selected recycled materials.
Material Source Agency Costs User Economic Analysis Discount Deterministic
Costs* Indicator Period Rate (%) LCCA
(years) Approach
Material Recycling Landfill Labour Construction Production Maintenance Salvage Transportation TDC VOC
Costs Costs Charges Costs Costs Costs Costs Value Costs

Waste White et al. (2018) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓

Plastic Vasudevan et al. ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
(2012)
Chakrapani et al. ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
(2014)
Souliman et al. ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
(2016)
Pinsky et al. (2019) ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Vila-Cortavitarte ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
et al. (2018)
Recycled Zhao et al. (2013) ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Glass Topçu et al. (2004) ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Crumb Wen et al. (2018) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Rubber Jung et al. (2002) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ✓ NPV/EUAC 25 4 ✓
Nazzal et al. (2016) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NR 10 NR ✓
Picado at al. (2020) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓

8
Lignin Tokede et al. (2020) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Crushed Shaikh et al. (2019) ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Brick Zhang et al. (2020) ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
RCA Bloom et al. (2016) ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ NPV/EUAC 50 NR ✓
Shaikh et al. (2019) ✓ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NR ✓
Mei et al. (2018) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Zhang et al. (2020) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV NA NA ✓
Shi et al. (2019) ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ✓ NPV 27 1.5 ✓
Reza et al. (2017) ✓ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ⨯ ✓ ✓ ⨯ ⨯ NPV/EUAC 50 1.5 ✓

Notes: * Crash costs are not included in any of the studies, TDC: Travel delay costs; VOC: Vehicle operating costs; NA: Not applicable; NR: Not Reported.
Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
S. Salehi et al.
barriers to the use of lignin in other industries such as lightweight ve­
hicles, which is attributed to the energy-intensive processes of carbon
fiber production (Das, 2011). Carbon fibers can also be used in rein­
forced roads, reducing the maintenance costs to road agencies due to the
decreased overlay thickness (Sayida et al., 2020). A cost-benefit analysis
of a hybrid fiber composed of lignin, polyester, polypropylene fibers has
shown the economic benefits of hybrid fiber reinforced asphalt pave­
ment (Zhang et al., 2016).
4.6. Crumb rubber
Transportation distance and scarcity of natural aggregate resources
are among the most important factors in the high cost of natural ag­
gregates (Ryu et al., 2013). Although considering the high cost of
recycling rubber, the replacement of natural aggregate with CR in PCC
decreases the total cost in terms of material costs and landfill tipping fees
(Guo et al., 2018). Better resistance to freeze-thaw cycles and chloride
penetration of CR-modified concrete also improve the durability of
pavement and reduce road maintenance costs (Yung et al., 2013).
An investigation of the economic effects of CR incorporation into
asphalt binders for the production of HMA has shown higher material,
electricity and fuel costs in comparison with conventional asphalt
binders (Wen et al., 2018).
The type of technology used to produce CR asphalt binders has an
impact on direct costs (Dias, 2011). In general, the wet process, the dry
process and the terminal blend process are the three main technologies
for the production of CR asphalt binders. Material and production costs
of conventional asphalt mixtures in comparison with CR asphalt show
that any type of CR asphalt has higher direct costs. The wet process is
more costly than the dry process due to higher transformation,
manufacturing and human resources costs (Picado-Santos et al., 2020).
CR can be sourced from both truck and passenger vehicle tires. At
present, passenger vehicle tires are not part of the CR recycling processes
due to differences in tire compound compositions. The higher propor­
tion of steel and textile in passenger vehicle tires results in more
expensive recycling processes for management of the waste nylon fiber
generated during recycling. Therefore, investment in specialized
equipment and infrastructure for recycling of these tires is not justifiable
(Harrison et al., 2019).
Although the production cost of CR asphalt is higher than that of
conventional mixtures, rubberized asphalt pavements are more
economical in terms of initial construction, M&R, and user costs in the
long term (Jung et al., 2002). The utilization of CR improved pavement
service life, which in turn reduced the frequency of rehabilitation ac­
tivities, user costs and ultimately life cycle costs. It is worth mentioning
that the difference in maintenance and user costs of CR and conventional
asphalt becomes substantial over longer periods of time.
5. Discussion and future directions
In previous sections, the environmental and economic impacts of
recycled materials in pavements, from recycling processes to the EOL,
were discussed. Recycled materials in geotechnical applications should
satisfy economic and environmental requirements. Notable contribu­
tions in relation to the research topic have been made by researchers
through LCA and LCCA. The following sections discuss the current state
of these evaluations and bridge gaps in the sustainability assessment of
pavements.
5.1. Environmental analysis
LCA is a comprehensive tool for the analysis of the environmental
impacts of recycled materials in pavements and the achievement of
sustainability goals in the infrastructure sector. In order to use LCA re­
sults and move towards environmentally-friendly pavements, limita­
tions in the existing research need to be addressed. The following
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Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
sections discuss these limitations and provide suggestions for future
studies.
5.1.1. Data uncertainty and quality
The absence of explicit data on the production of mixtures containing
recycled materials usually leads to the consideration of assumptions and
hypotheses in calculations, such as greater energy uses for rubberized
asphalt mixtures due to the higher working temperature during the
production phase (Farina et al., 2017). However, drawing reliable con­
clusions on results of LCAs requires direct monitoring of production and
construction activities. To date, most studies have focused on the use of
primary data for waste materials recycling (Fig. 3) to increase the ac­
curacy of LCAs that is an evident of increasing the availability and
quality of data.
The geographical distribution of published papers on the LCA of
recycled materials (Fig. 4) indicates that most studies are conducted in
developed countries and show the importance of recycling in these re­
gions due to the higher costs of waste stockpiles and virgin materials.
Differences between the locations of studies and sources of data limit the
comparability of results. The use of LCA results outside the geographical
context of studies increases the uncertainty of data and leads to
misleading conclusions which must be considered in making decisions.
5.1.2. System boundary
Currently, the initial phases of pavement life cycle are considered in
most LCA studies (Fig. 5). However, the results of previous studies of
conventional pavements show that impacts during the use, maintenance
and EOL phases have significant effects on the final results (Santero
et al., 2011). Therefore, a reliable comparison between different pave­
ment materials and types necessitates cradle-to-grave LCAs in future
studies.
There is also a lack of clarity regarding the inclusion or exclusion of
material recycling processes in current LCAs. Meanwhile, potential im­
pacts of all recycling processes need to be considered, rather than merely
the washing or crushing of waste materials.
The number of studies focusing on the use phase of conventional
pavements has increased since 2011 (Azarijafari et al., 2016). However,
the most significant gap in the LCA literature on waste-derived pave­
ments is the exclusion of the use phase (Fig. 5), which is attributed to the
lack of effective tools and models for the quantification of relevant im­
pacts (Shi et al., 2019). Shi et al. (2019) characterized these impacts and
pointed out the negative impacts of pavement roughness on fuel and tire
consumption. These impacts outweigh the benefits associated with the
use of recycled materials during the material production and construc­
tion phases. Moreover, the environmental impacts of the use phase of
the pavement life cycle are not limited to the consumption of tire and
fuel, as other parameters such as lighting, noise, and albedo have sub­
stantial impacts (Azarijafari et al., 2016). Therefore, complete knowl­
edge of the use phase of waste-derived pavement materials is still
lacking and there is a need for improvement.
The complete impacts of the maintenance phase include the con­
sumption of both materials and fuel for construction equipment. How­
ever, in most LCA studies the simultaneous impacts of these factors are
left unexplored. Pavement condition and performance data on waste-
derived pavements could improve the LCA of pavement maintenance.
While some studies have explored the fate of waste-derived pave­
ment materials, potential environmental impacts of most of the recycled
materials at the EOL have not been sufficiently explored. Investigation
the recycling potential of pavement and inclusion of various EOL sce­
narios such as on-site recycling, or reuse can be explored in future
comparative studies.
Moreover, the side benefits of the utilization of recycled materials in
road construction should be considered, when different pavement
design options are to be compared. In most cases, the use of recycled
materials enhances the performance of pavement and provides a more
durable material than conventional pavement with lower maintenance
S. Salehi et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936

Fig. 3. The use of primary data, explicit sensitivity analysis and a weighting of impacts in reviewed LCA studies.

Fig. 4. Geographical distribution of recycled materials LCA studies from 2002 to 2020.

frequencies. Therefore, various service lives should be considered in LCA
studies comparing recycled and conventional scenarios. However, in
most LCA studies, the same service life and analysis period have been
considered for different pavement materials without any consideration
of the benefits of recycled material.
5.1.3. Impact categories
In reviewed studies, GWP and energy consumption impact categories
are more prevalent than other impact categories. The lack of reliable
data and uncertainties associated with other impact categories are the
main reasons for this limited selection of categories (Moberg et al.,
2005). Also, other popular categories such as photochemical oxidation
and eutrophication are considered by less than half of the studies, which
is evidence for the insufficiency of the set of categories to be used in
comparative statements for public disclosure.
Different environmental benefits can be achieved by the use of each
recycled material. However, the specific impacts of each material are
currently neglected and some of the most important ones are ignored.
For instance, one of the greatest concerns with the use of waste plastics
in pavements is in relation to human health and safety. The leachability
of plastic-modified binders and possible pollution of the aquatic envi­
ronment, microplastics and the emission of toxic fumes during plant and
field processes are of great concern (Chin and Damen, 2019). Therefore,
in each LCA study, various impact categories depending on the potential
environmental benefits and concerns of waste-derived materials have to
be adopted.

10
S. Salehi et al.
Fig. 5. System boundaries of reviewed LCA studies.
5.1.4. Transportation of materials and sensitivity analysis
In most reviewed studies, transportation impacts have been excluded
due to negligible haulage distances (Fig. 3). However, the commercial
use of recycled materials in some regions is limited due to the unavail­
ability of materials (Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia, 2008).
Therefore, the inclusion of transport distances in these regions is likely
to be more realistic.
Although transportation of some materials has a low contribution in
GWP (Shaikh et al., 2019), haulage distances beyond certain thresholds
may outweigh the environmental savings resulting from recycled ma­
terials and should not be neglected (Jain et al., 2020). Therefore, con­
ducting sensitivity analysis on transport distances to explore the
environmental performance of pavements under different scenarios is
important. Similarly, maximizing environmental savings by minimizing
transport distances based on sensitivity analysis can be explored as a
future research direction.
5.2. Economic analysis
LCCA has been used by transportation and road agencies in decision
making to select the most cost-effective pavement material. Current
practices focus on the use of LCCA to evaluate the production costs of
waste-derived pavements with considerable discrepancies among
studies. The following sections discuss these analyses and provide sug­
gestions for future LCCA studies.
5.2.1. Economic indicator and discount rate
The most common measure adopted for the economic evaluation of
pavements is NPV. A combination of NPV and EUAC is also used in some
cases (Table 3). Ranking of alternatives based on a single value for
discounted costs and benefits may be the main reason for the predom­
inant use of NPV.
The discount rate and its fluctuations influence the economic anal­
ysis of waste-derived pavements (Wu et al., 2017). Selection of an
appropriate discount rate for a specific decision problem is essential if
reliable conclusions are to be reached. Reviewing discount rate values
across and within countries shows the tendency for the adoption of low
discount rates (Ferreira and Santos, 2013). Various discount rates from
1.5% to 6% are adopted in the LCCAs of recycled materials (Table 3). In
11
Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
most studies a discount rate is not applied due to the exclusion of future
costs incurred by road agencies and users. In addition, in some studies,
NPV is used as the economic indicator without stating the discount rate.
It is acknowledged that for a high structural-capacity pavement, with
increasing discount rates agency costs increase, while the opposite ap­
plies for a low structural capacity pavement (Ferreira and Santos, 2013).
In almost all reviewed studies there is no sensitivity analysis of discount
rates. To evaluate discount rate sensitivity, a discount rate range can be
used by decision makers to rank pavement material.
5.2.2. Analysis period
Based on the pavement type, the analysis periods in the studies vary
from 10 to 50 years (Table 3). Generally, it can be concluded that studies
which focus on the LCC of rigid pavements use longer analysis periods
than studies of flexible pavements. However, due to the inconsistent use
of analysis period it is difficult to compare the results of studies. In a
comparison of alternatives the longest design life should be chosen as
the analysis period considering long-term costs (Moins et al., 2020).
However, the same analysis periods are adopted without any consider­
ation (Table 3) and as a result the value of time and variations in
long-term costs such as M&R are neglected. Comparative LCCA with
consideration of various analysis periods is recommended for future
studies to benefit the pavement industry in practice.
5.2.3. Cost components
Costs associated with the use of recycled materials in pavements are
incurred by road agencies and users. However, aanalyses of reviewed
papers shows that only a few LCCA studies have considered user costs of
which a few incorporated VOCs (Fig. 6). Also, results of studies show
that the high costs of labor and waste material reprocessing are the main
reasons for stockpiling waste materials in landfills. Therefore, it is
important to highlight if material costs in LCCA relate to reprocessed
materials. However, there is no need for any form of cost analysis if the
application of recycled material results in non-recyclable or non-
reusable pavement.
5.2.4. Uncertainties
Many LCCA input values have some level of uncertainty due to un­
certainties associated with interactions of product life cycles with
S. Salehi et al.
Fig. 6. Cost components of reviewed LCCA studies.
changes in market conditions, regional construction variations, lack of
data, or when the data refer to a short period of time (Praticò and
Giunta, 2018). Addressing these uncertainties is important for the
realistic prediction of costs and this can be achieved by performing
either sensitivity or risk analysis. Currently, sensitivity analysis is
preferred (Table 3), although it fails to rank alternatives when the
simultaneous influences of several model variables are important
(Christensen et al., 2005). This simultaneous influence and the number
of break-even points are very important, since they change the ranking
of alternatives in terms of road agency and user costs for different dis­
count rates, analysis periods, rehabilitation timings or material costs
(Guven et al., 2008). Therefore, risk analysis in LCCA of recycled ma­
terials needs further investigation in future studies.
6. Conclusion
Utilization of recycled materials in pavements with the aim of
reducing the consumption of virgin materials and the associated impacts
has recently gained considerable momentum in the infrastructure in­
dustry. Of the recycled materials available, this paper focuses on RCA,
lignin, WP, RG, CB and CR. In order to achieve sustainable development
goals, the environmental and economic impacts of waste-derived
pavements need to be accounted for as part of sustainability analysis.
From an environmental perspective, this review shows that more
attention needs to be paid to the utilization of lignin, recycled plastic,
crushed brick and glass due to the high generation rate and the negative
environmental impacts of stockpiling. Also, environmental impacts of
recycling processes have merely been considered or descriptions of them
are not been provided. Future research is encouraged by comparison of
environmental impacts of waste-derived pavements based on the recy­
cling processes to promote sustainable technologies for reuse and
recycling of waste materials. The energy requirements and GHG emis­
sions of modified pavements during plant processes need further
investigation. Consideration of these impacts may lead to the use of
more environmentally-friendly fuels in manufacturing to reduce the
associated pollution. Uncertainties associated with the long-term per­
formance of waste-derived pavements lead to the exclusion of the use of
12
Journal of Cleaner Production 313 (2021) 127936
phase impacts, and can be improved by conducting accelerated loading
tests on waste-derived pavements. Since small quantities of bitumen can
be replaced by recycled materials, the results of LCAs are not sensitive to
transportation distances of materials such as recycled plastics or lignin.
Finally, the utilization of recycled materials in pavements may have
greater impacts on the environment, which may be justified by the
consideration of the better long-term performance of waste-derived
pavements.
From an economic perspective, this review found few economic
analyses of selected recycled materials. Therefore, whole of LCCs of
these pavements need further investigation. The high cost of recycling is
one of the main drawbacks to the incorporation of recycled materials in
pavements. The development of new cost-effective recycling processes
may be an economic incentive for road agencies to use more recycled
materials. Material and production costs are the main concerns of most
LCCAs, while other cost components are often overlooked. As the
importance of recycling is becoming greater, quantification of these
costs must be considered in future research. The results of LCCAs are
sensitive to haulage distances and these should not be ignored in the
sustainability assessment of recycled materials. Finally, consideration of
both the economic and environmental aspects of sustainability is
necessary for the viability of waste-derived pavements, as the replace­
ment of small quantities of virgin materials by recycled materials may
not bring considerable environmental benefits but it may reduce costs
significantly.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This research work is part of a research project (Project No
IH18.04.1) sponsored by the SPARC Hub (https://sparchub.org.au) at
the Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, funded by the
S. Salehi et al.
Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research
Hub (ITRH) Scheme (Project ID: IH180100010). The financial and in-
kind support from Austroads and Monash University is gratefully
acknowledged. The financial support of the ARC is gratefully acknowl­
edged. Mr Ross Guppy from Austroads is profoundly thanked for his in-
kind contributions to this project.
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