Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

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

Review

Use of recycled aggregates arising from construction and demolition

waste in new construction applications
R.V. Silva a, *, J. de Brito a, R.K. Dhir b, c
a
CERIS-ICIST, Instituto Superior T

ecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portugal
b
School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
c
Applying Concrete Knowledge, 1A Blackened Avenue, Birmingham, B17 8AP, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the light of the ever-increasing need of circular economy in the construction industry and of the recent
Received 6 July 2018 advances in research and development on the use of recycled aggregates, produced from construction
Received in revised form and demolition waste, in new construction materials, this paper presents a compilation of representative
20 June 2019
case studies of several applications, namely recycled aggregates in unbound, hydraulically-bound and
Accepted 12 July 2019
Available online 12 July 2019
bitumen-bound applications, as well as in (non-)structural concrete in road and building construction.
Experience has shown that, in spite of the positive outcomes and comprehensive know-how gained over
Handling editor: Baoshan Huang the course of several years in those exploratory studies, there is a considerable underuse of recycled
aggregates mostly due to lack of confidence in the material amongst contractors and designers. This
Keywords: paper, using a range of case studies undertaken in several countries worldwide, highlights the technical
Construction and demolition waste viability and appropriateness of using recycled aggregates in a broad range of construction applications.
Recycled aggregates © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Case studies
Road pavement construction
Concrete

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Case studies on the use of RA in unbound applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1. Load bearing structures of Lahti motorway, Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2. Subbase layers in the Lisbon International Airport, Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3. Utility trench reinstatement, Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4. Rubble mound breakwater, The Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.5. Newport southern distributor road, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Case studies on the use of RA in hydraulically bound applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. 140-m long base course of a test road, Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Cement-treated mixed recycled aggregates in road construction, Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3. Subbase of 200-m test section on the C-25 motorway, Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4. Channel Tunnel Rail Link, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.5. Low volume roads for rural areas, shanghai, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Case studies on the use of RA in bitumen bound applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1. Cold in situ recycling of bound and unbound layers of the A9 trunk road, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.2. A316 resurfacing pilot project, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3. A34 Chieveley/M4 junction 13 improvement, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.4. Okehampton recycling centre and access road, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Case studies on the use of RA in rigid pavement construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: rui.v.silva@tecnico.ulisboa.pt (R.V. Silva), jb@civil.ist.utl.pt
(J. de Brito), r.k.dhir@bham.ac.uk (R.K. Dhir).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117629
0959-6526/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629

5.1. University of Waterloo Centre for pavement and Transportation Technology, Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.2. Rigid pavement in St. Louis, Missouri, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3. Section Interstate-10 in Houston, Texas, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4. Austrian Salzburg-Vienna A1 concrete motorway, Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.5. Dundee biotechnology park, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.6. Rabanales bike lane, Co
rdoba, Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6. Case studies on the use of RA in concrete applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.1. Hong Kong Wetland park, Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7. Case studies on the use of RA in concrete applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Hong Kong Wetland park, Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bundesgartenschau decorative concrete elements, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
“Waldspirale” building project, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Environmental building at Building Research Establishment, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Strong floor at BRE Cardington Laboratory, United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Samwoh Eco-Green Building, Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The “Recycled House” in Odense, Denmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Recycling plant weighing house, Winnenden, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Semi-detached houses, Ludwigshafen-Edigheim, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Science and Technology Centre, Heilbronn, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Office building, Mannheim-Neuostheim, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1. Introduction only in laboratories and there is still a markedly small acceptance

by the construction industry. Aside the different known barriers,
The demand for construction aggregates is increasing globally. including the poor quality of RA sourced from CDW recycling plants
Recent statistics indicate that the global demand for aggregates is and standards/specifications without comprehensive clauses for
expected to increase from 45 billion tonnes, in 2017, to 66 billion the use of the material, the limited use of the recycled product is
tonnes by 2025 (PMR, 2017). The demand for aggregates within the also due to the low stakeholders' confidence of its feasibility in real
European Union's 28 Member States and countries of the European scale applications (De Brito and Silva, 2016). To tackle this barrier,
Free Trade Association was about 2.7 billion tonnes in 2015 (EAA, one of the most effective approaches to boost the confidence of
2018). Assuming that the total portion of the mineral fraction of those individuals is by showing the applicability of RA in real-life
construction and demolition waste (CDW) generated in the EU in situations. For this reason, this paper is meant to further
2014 (Eurostat, 2017) could be transformed into recycled aggre- enlighten the key individuals in the construction sector that can
gates (RA), this would amount to about 11% of the total demand for drive the greater use of RA of the various potential applications of
construction aggregate. This demonstrates that there is consider- RA in structural and non-structural elements in road pavement and
able scope to develop new ways that can further drive the use of RA building construction. Although several other case studies exist
in construction. apart from those presented in this paper, the selection of the ones
The process of transforming CDW into RA in specialized recy- described here was based on the scale, representativeness, infor-
cling facilities, has existed for several years and gained special mation available and interest to upcoming legislation on the use of
relevance after the Second World War. Substantial advances in the RA. Furthermore, despite the considerable importance of some
installation and development of treatment plants have been small/large-scale laboratory experiments (Gonz
alez-Fonteboa and
observed since then with the objective of producing RA of the Martínez-Abella, 2007; Pacheco et al., 2015a, 2015b; Xiao et al.,
highest possible quality (Hu et al., 2010; Nunes et al., 2007). 2015, 2016) that have allowed a better understanding of the ma-
However, if adequate quality control procedures are not applied terial's behaviour and vital for the creation of additional clauses to
during the waste's triage, the considerable presence of constituents current design codes, these studies have been generally based on
(e.g. asphalt, ceramic bricks, concrete, dirt, gypsum, glass, metal, the use of uncontaminated RA (i.e. from crushed “clean” concrete)
plastic, among others) (Stein, 1987) is likely to affect the resulting and thus somewhat unrepresentative of the material that is
material's properties. Thus, comprehensive selective demolition commercially available (Agrela et al., 2011; Barbudo et al., 2012;
measures have been adopted in several countries, such as in Mas et al., 2012; Rodrigues et al., 2013). Also, experimental setups
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, where high recycling are not subjected to the diversity of actions occurring under real life
rates have also been achieved. Apart from the small reserve of conditions (e.g. road traffic and movement of people or equipment)
natural resources in these countries, the high levels of recycling and stakeholders are much more concerned in the product's per-
have also been promoted by the elaboration of rigorous environ- formance in real-life circumstances before deploying it into the
mental policies, and thereby facilitating the greater use of RA in real market.
construction applications. Conversely, in several other countries,
the inconsistent properties of commercially available RA due to 2. Case studies on the use of RA in unbound applications
non-existence of segregation of waste and/or inadequate recycling
procedures have led to general lack of confidence amongst stake- 2.1. Load bearing structures of Lahti motorway, Finland
holders, resulting in little uptake of recycled materials.
In spite of the high technical feasibility of the use of RA in new In the light of the introduction of a waste tax in 1998, there have
construction materials, the vast majority of this has been observed been several projects in which RA were used in base and subbase
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
layers in road construction. One of such projects was the Lahti
motorway, belonging to a high category in the Finnish road system.
In 1998, about 20 k tonnes of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA)
were used for the construction of the asphalt course's base layer of
a 2 km longitudinal section of the motorway. The motorway
structure's load bearing capacity was designed in a way that it
would increase from 300 MPa (normal design capacity for a con-
ventional structure) to 400 MPa. The motorway's load bearing ca-
pacity reached 689 MPa in May 2000 and is expected to increase
due to the RCA's self-cementing properties, thereby increasing the
motorway's service life (ETN, 2000).
2.2. Subbase layers in the Lisbon International Airport, Portugal
The Lisbon's International Airport remodelled one of its plat-
forms (ECHO Platform) to increase the airport's quality of service
and capacity; it now includes new taxiways, aircraft parking spaces
and a new terminal (Fernandes et al., 2009). Since the existing
pavement (40 MPa concrete) showed signs of degradation, the
contractor decided to demolish the existing structure and build a
new pavement (Fig. 1). In the midst of this process, a site engineer
determined that the resulting concrete waste could replace NA in
the upcoming subbase layers and thus a study was performed to
ascertain how to make the best use of those materials. The
geotechnical, mechanical and physical properties of the resulting
RA were determined according to Portuguese specifications on the
use of RA in construction (LNEC-E473 (2009) and LNEC-E474
(2009)). The crushed RA had a maximum size of 40 mm and
exhibited a particle size distribution within the standard range. It
had an equivalent of sand between 56% and 84%, being above the
minimum of 30%, and a methylene blue value between 0.4% and
1.0%, below the maximum of 2.0%. Based on the Proctor compaction
test, the maximum dry density and optimum water content were
found to be of 2026 kg/m3 to 2116 kg/m3 and 6.7%e9.0%, respec-
tively. Concerning the Los Angeles abrasion mass loss, it was of 36%,
below the maximum of 45%.
These materials were thoroughly doused with water with the
intention of improving their workability during the loading,
spreading and compacting stages, and preventing dust from
spreading onto the taxiways. Besides the standard tests for the
characterization of the materials, other tests (plate load test; falling
weight deflectometer) were carried out in-situ to determine their
structural behaviour as a subbase layer. For safety reasons, the
pavement was designed so that it would not exhibit post-
construction deformations. An estimated volume of 25,000 m3 of
RA obtained in-situ were reused, thereby reducing energy
Fig. 1. Demolition and processing of the old pavement at the Lisbon's International Airport (Fernandes et al., 2009).
3
consumption and gas emissions of the corresponding extraction
and transport of natural resources to the construction site and
prevention of CDW landfill. This allowed estimated global savings
of about V500,000.
2.3. Utility trench reinstatement, Singapore
The government of Singapore has been actively promoting the
recycling of CDW in new construction applications, with the
intention of reducing natural resources dependency and waste
disposal problems. Although there are several cases on the use of
RA in road construction, there is a limited use of the finer fraction in
this application. Hence, a joint study was carried out by Samwoh
Corporation Pte Ltd, Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SP Power
Grid to evaluate the use of coarse and fine RCA for the restoration of
a utility trench. The RCA, which were obtained from concrete waste
processed in a recycling plant, comprised mainly granite and
adhered mortar. The materials' characterization test results showed
that both NA and RCA met the LTA requirements and did not show
any significant differences in terms of strength and resistance to
abrasion (Table 1). Furthermore, RCA appeared to be less flaky and
elongated than granite aggregate, which facilitate the material's
compaction. The maximum dry density of the granite base course
was of 2170 kg/m3, with an optimum water content of 8%, whereas
the maximum dry density of the RCA base course was of 1850 kg/
m3, with an optimum moisture content of 17%
This study, carried out during the maintenance of utilities’ un-
derground pipes (i.e. gas, water, sewage, electrical and telecom-
munication cables), involved laboratory tests and a field trial (Lee
et al., 2009, 2011). In the field trial, three test sections were built:

Section A (100-m length): conventional asphalt concrete (150-
mm thick); granite aggregate base (350 mm); fine RCA sub-
base (500 mm);
Table 1
Material characterization for the reinstatement of an utility trench (adapted from
Lee et al. (2009)).
Property NA - Granite RCA
Impact value (%, maximum 30%) 23 26
Crushing value (%, maximum 30%) 26 23
Elongation index value (%, maximum 35%) 18 10
Flakiness index (%, maximum 35%) 12 8
LA abrasion mass loss (%, maximum 50%) 30 35
Fines content (%, maximum 3%) 0.5 1.0
4 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629

Section B (75-m length): conventional asphalt concrete (150-
mm thick); RCA base (350-mm); fine RCA subbase (500-mm);

Section C (90-m length): conventional asphalt concrete (150-
mm thick); granite aggregate base (350-mm); fine granite
aggregate subbase (500-mm).
A dense-graded asphalt concrete was used for the surface
course of all the test sections. The total length of the test section
was 265 m. The construction process involved the pavement's
excavation to create a trench about 1-m wide and over 1-m deep,
laying the utility pipes and finally reinstating the trench. During
the construction, quality control tests were carried out to
determine the density of the materials and ensure that the ma-
terials were properly compacted. After the test sections' con-
struction, field monitoring was carried out on the pavement to
assess its roughness and structural performance, based on the
International Roughness Index (IRI) and deflection testing,
respectively. The results showed that the RCA-containing course
test sections exhibited slightly lower values (average of
2.4e2.5 m/km for the RCA course vs. 4.1e4.5 m/km for the granite
course), which indicates higher bearing capacity for the traffic
load. In the case of deflection, sections A and B, which were built
using fine RCA, showed similar or even better mechanical per-
formance than the control section C (using a deflectograph for
every 4 m interval, average deflection values of 0.2 mm and
0.5 mm were observed for the RCA and granite courses, respec-
tively). Based on the test results, the authors concluded that fine
RCA could be a good alternative to fine granite aggregate for
utility trench reinstatement.
2.4. Rubble mound breakwater, The Netherlands
The use of about 720 metric tonnes of 50/150 mm RA from
crushed masonry (often referred to as recycled masonry aggregates
- RMA (Silva et al., 2014)) and concrete was tested at Ven-
tjagersplaat, near the Haringvliet estuary in the southwest of the
Netherlands (ETN, 2000). The batch, which was comprised of
around 60% RMA and 40% RCA, was used in the core of a 150 m
rubble mound breakwater (Rijnsburger, 1997). The feasibility of this
application was based on positive experiences with the material in
filters and stone claddings. RMA are supposed to be less durable
than traditional NA because of their higher porosity, lower density
and lower strength. The risk that the lower performance in terms of
durability would result in the total failure of the dam was, however,
very small. A possible cause of failure was an extreme dynamic load
by transport and processing during construction. No extra mea-
sures were needed during the construction stage; it was found that
the recycled material showed no considerable difference when
compared with the conventional natural counterpart and was
suitable for transportation. Site engineers found that there was
some uncertainty as to the RA's resistance against freeze-thaw
cycles. As a result of the moderate winters during the test period,
no conclusion was drawn concerning the resistance to freezing and
thawing. Furthermore, Los Angeles abrasion tests showed that
there was no considerable difference in the mass loss of the ma-
terials before and after placing them in position, after 3 years of
being in the core of the river dam and after being subjected to a
freezing and thawing test (values between 45% and 55%). Their
expectation was that the influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the
RMA would be small due of the insulating effect of the top layer
made with NA. Concerning the settling of the river dam, mea-
surements inferred minimum differences after 46 months when
compared with the rock rubble control dam (average settling of
around 4.5 mm and 6.0 mm for the dam containing natural mate-
rials and that with the RA, respectively). At Ventjagersplaat, the
authors of the project concluded the use of RA was successful.
Based on the results, they also suggested that less strict re-
quirements for new applications using RA can be formulated. In
general, this project proved that RA can be a good alternative to
traditional NA in unbound applications from a technical and eco-
nomic point of view as 1 m3 of RA could be 20% cheaper than the
conventional natural alternative.
2.5. Newport southern distributor road, United Kingdom
Morgan Vinci Ltd. was appointed by Newport City Council to
design, build, finance and operate the Newport Southern Distrib-
utor Road, Wales, United Kingdom (WRAP, 2003c). This new 9.5 km
road runs from Duffryn, on the west side of Newport, to the Coldra
roundabout (M4 Junction 24) on the east. It includes a new bridge
across the River Usk and the upgrading of existing roads to dual
carriageway. The Newport Southern Distributor Road scheme was
designed to improve the environment in the city centre by taking
traffic away from residential areas, improving access to industrial
areas in the east and south of the city, and providing a new river
crossing. During the pre-commencement stage, the construction,
design, environmental and procurement teams combined to
maximize the use of project derived excavated materials. Oppor-
tunities were also sought to use locally available aggregates. Be-
sides complying with a high technical specification, the materials
used also had to meet strict environmental guidelines (Specifica-
tion for Highways Work and chemical thresholds as per the Envi-
ronment Agency). The environmental considerations were imposed
as conditions of the planning permission from the local planning
authority to protect the local environment, in particular the
ecologically sensitive River Usk. The quantities of RA used in this
project and the direct cost savings from using them instead of NA
are presented in Table 2.
Significant indirect savings up to £941,360 also occurred by
avoiding waste disposal charges and landfill taxes. The direct and
indirect savings from using recycled materials in the Newport
Southern Distributor Road project amounted to £1,975,495. The
authors of this project did not identify any significant additional
costs of using the recycled and secondary materials. Furthermore,
apart from the considerable economic advantages from the use of
using locally available RA, several other benefits were also
identified:

Less demand for natural resources (95% of all aggregates used in
this project were recycled), thus reducing the environmental
impact

Fewer long distance haulage movements, thus reducing the
environmental impact;

Recycled materials are environmentally acceptable and can be
used in the vicinity of environmentally sensitive areas without
adverse impacts;

Promoting environment beneficial practices, in particular sus-
tainable waste management, within the construction industry.
Table 2
Total direct savings and quantity of RA used in the Newport Southern Distributor
Road project (WRAP, 2003c).
Application Quantity of RA used (  1000 tonnes) Direct savings
Capping 175.5 £498,475.00
General granular fill 217.0 £420,160.00
Unbound sub-base 60.0 £115,500.00
Total 452.5 £1,034,135.00
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Table 3
Material characterization for a 140-m long base course of a test road (adapted from
Ho et al. (2008)).
Property
Impact value (%, maximum 45%)
Flakiness index (%, maximum 40%)
LA abrasion mass loss (%, maximum 50%)
Fines content (%, maximum 3%)
Oven-dry density (kg/m3)
Water absorption (%)
3. Case studies on the use of RA in hydraulically bound
applications
3.1. 140-m long base course of a test road, Singapore
In Singapore, a recycling facility was set up to process crushed
concrete elements into RA, which mainly comprised granite
aggregate and old adhered mortar, and subsequently used granite
replacement in the construction of a hydraulically-bound base
course (Ho et al., 2008). Experimental trials were carried out to
assess the RA's properties; these presented slightly lower density,
higher water absorption and less resistance to abrasion when
compared to NA. Nevertheless, the RCA met the LTA's requirements
for base course aggregate (Table 3).
A pug mill plant was used to produce the base course. In the
facility, various sizes of RCA were blended at specified water con-
tent to produce a graded aggregate base course as per LTA speci-
fications. Two 140-m long sections were constructed; one was built
using hydraulically-bound RA base course and the other using
bound NA as the control section. Both sections consist of a granular
subbase about 300 mm thick, a 250 mm thick hydraulically-bound
RA or NA base course and a 200 mm asphalt concrete layer.
The RA-containing base course's properties were evaluated in
terms of its maximum dry density, California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
and unconfined compression strength. As expected, this material
presented higher moisture content (8e10% vs. 6e8%) and lower
maximum dry density (~2000 kg/m3 vs. ~2200 kg/m3) for optimum
compaction, when compared to the hydraulically bound NA base
course. Nevertheless, the CBR test results showed that the base
course with RA exhibited a higher bearing capacity than that of the
control material (>200% vs. 100e200%, for the RA and NA courses,
respectively). The RA base course also presented unconfined 7-day
compressive strength values of 4e6 MPa, which is more than the
3.5 MPa minimum specified for a stabilized base course according
to LTA specifications. The field performance evaluation was based
on roughness, rut depth and deflection. The first two were
measured using a multi-laser profiler and the road's longitudinal
profile was assessed based on the IRI. The deflection was measured
using a deflectograph. The test section built with the bound RA base
course had similar performance to the control course in terms of IRI
and rut depth (average IRI and rut depth of 2e3 m/km and 1e2 mm,
respectively). In terms of deflection, the initial measurements
showed that the RA base course exhibited lower deflection than the
Fig. 2. Test section pavement structure (adapted from Agrela et al. (2012)).
5
control section (average deflections around 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm for
the RA and NA courses, respectively), which suggests that it could
provide a longer structural life than a conventional base course.
RCA
20e30 3.2. Cement-treated mixed recycled aggregates in road
10e30 construction, Spain
20e40
<1
2300e2400 In this case study, the subbase of an access ramp for a motorway
4e6 was made with mixed RA sourced from a CDW recycling facility
(Agrela et al., 2012). Three test sections, each 300 m long, were built
as part of an access road to a motorway in Malaga using NA and two
types of mixed recycled aggregates (MRA) (one with 85% RCA and
15% RMA - RA15 -, and the other with 78% RCA and 22% RMA - RA22
-, by weight) as the cement-treated subbase. The pavement struc-
ture (Fig. 2) consists of an improved sub-grade (300 mm thick
cement-stabilized soil), a cement-treated subbase (200 mm) and
two asphalt layers (150 mm).
The subbase made with cement-treated RA contained 3% of CEM
II B/V-32.5 N according to EN-197-1 (2011). The RA were compacted
to a density equivalent to 98% of that attained from the modified
Proctor test. The hydraulically bound RA were produced in a nearby
(500 m away) mobile continuous production plant and transported
in conventional 25-ton lorries. A conventional paver was used, with
extrusion plates and vibrators for pre-compaction. To achieve
adequate density, a 15-ton vibrating roller was used for compaction
followed by a 35-ton pneumatic tyre roller. The same compaction
procedure was applied to conventional and recycled layers alike.
The test results showed that the MRA exhibited a lower
maximum dry density in the modified Proctor test, due to the
higher content of less dense RMA (i.e. 2220 kg/m3, 1950 kg/m3 and
1950 kg/m3 for the NA, RA15 and RA22, respectively). Also, because
of its higher water absorption, an additional amount of water was
required to achieve optimal compaction (i.e. 6.4%, 10.4% and 12.4%
for the NA, RA15 and RA22, respectively). Cement-treated MRA
were found to have a shorter workability time than cement-treated
NA. In spite of the aforementioned, in-situ cement-treated MRA
exhibited good mechanical performance in terms of 28-day
compressive strength (4.17 MPa, 4.51 MPa and 4.25 MPa for the
NA, RA15 and RA22, respectively), low deflection under impact load
and appropriate roughness values. The results of the roughness test
indicated that the test sections using NA, RA15 and RA22 exhibited
mean IRI values of 1.00, 0.88 and 0.54, all of which were below the
1.5 m/km limit specified by the Spanish regulations (PG-3, 2014).
3.3. Subbase of 200-m test section on the C-25 motorway, Spain
The company Servia  Canto

and the Universities Alfonso X El
Sabio and Polite
cnica de Catalun
~ a assessed the performance of
stabilized layers using soil and aggregates from processed CDW
(Ainchil et al., 2009). The 200-m test section was built on the C-25
Motorway, Vidreres - Llagostera, Girona. The all-in RA used in the
220 mm thick hydraulically bound subbase layer was mainly
composed of RCA. A cement content of 4% was used for the pro-
duction of the test section, since it was the optimum dosage
6 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
established in previous laboratory test results. The optimum
moisture content and maximum dry density were found to be of
10.4% and 1940 kg/m3, respectively. Maximum compaction was
achieved by submitting the layers with a tamping roller weight of
22 metric tonnes, using three cycles of strong vibration plus one of
lower vibration. The test section's field performance results indi-
cated that the hydraulically bound RA's properties were better than
those of the highway's main section composed of soil and NA; 7-
day compressive strength values between 4.55 MPa and 7.45 MPa
were observed, which were above the 2.5e4.5 MPa range for soil-
cement layers, according to Spanish regulations. This was due to
the use of good quality RCA, the properties of which were far su-
perior to those typically presented by cement-treated soil. As a
result of the lack of experience in this area, the cement dosage was
increased to prevent potential problems and uncertainties, but,
owing to the positive results, lower cement contents can be used for
this type of RA.
3.4. Channel Tunnel Rail Link, United Kingdom
The construction of the 109 km long Channel Tunnel Rail Link
high-speed railway involved the excavation of tunnels to a total
length of around 25 km (WRAP, 2005a). The excavation works
generated about 4,000,000 m3 of arisings. A key aspect of the
project design was the sustainable and creative reuse of this tunnel
spoil to produce platforms for future development. This would
enable substantial areas of unused land in east London and North
Kent to be regenerated. Some of the arisings from the North Downs
Tunnel, which was further east along the route, were used to
construct motorway embankments.
The specification adopted for this project was Series 600 of the
Specification for Highway Works (MCHW, 2016). Contract specific
amendments were made to this purpose at each deposition site, as
follows:

The spoil from the London Tunnels was too wet for immediate
placement as fill and thus was treated with lime. A bulk fill
treatment specification was developed

The spoil from the Thames Tunnel was a wet slurry and had to
be passed through a three-stage separation plant, which
involved coarse and fine vibrating screens, banks of large and
small centrifuges and wet separation equipment. It was then
treated with cement before being placed and compacted in the
area of new fill. An appropriate specification was developed for
this material

A contract specific chalk earthworks specification was devel-
oped for the North Downs Tunnel with the Highways Agency to
allow reuse of chalk excavated using road headers.
The contractors encountered few problems with either consis-
tency or quality of supply of the tunnel arisings. Extensive labora-
tory tests were undertaken for all the tunnels before construction,
to investigate the water content and strength of the spoil. They
intended to estimate how much treatment would be required to
make the spoil appropriate for placement and to reduce cost risks.
Mobile rotavators were used to add lime to dry out the spoil of
the London Tunnels and to make it strong enough to be properly
compacted. Similarly, an average of 4% cement was added to the
spoil from the Thames Tunnel after it had passed through the
separation plant and centrifuges. This treatment was planned and
did not cause significant delays. None of the arisings from the North
Downs Tunnel needed treatment.
Although no sustainability indicators were used, several bene-
fits were observed, as follows:

400,000 fewer lorry journeys in the vicinity of the construction
sites;

Benefits to the local community from less noise, less dust and
less construction traffic

Regeneration of unused and derelict land to create platforms for
future developments

Public relations benefits as a result of adopting sustainable
solutions.
It is estimated that the minimization of ground engineering
waste and the creative reuse of tunnel spoil for development of
platforms and motorway embankments saved the Channel Tunnel
Rail Link project at least £100 million. It also saved the Highways
Agency about £10 million. This project has also demonstrated that if
a client sees waste and environmental management issues as a
priority from the outline design phase on, significant benefits result
by the project's end. If potential environmental and economic
benefits are to be fully exploited, planning for waste minimization
needs to start as early in the project life as possible.
3.5. Low volume roads for rural areas, shanghai, China
In China, there are several roads in rural areas that are funda-
mental to link those areas with main cities. Since these usually have
low traffic volume and thus less stringent requirements, it has been
considered that locally sourced CDW can be used to build those
roads. A test track near Shanghai, China, was built using different
proportions of RMA and RCA for various layers (Jia et al., 2015).
Although masonry debris is more prominent in the CDW flow in
those areas and thus more likely to be the main constituent of the
resulting RA, the authors of the study assessed different combina-
tions with RCA, as it will result in improved mechanical perfor-
mance. For the test track, the following layers were built: an asphalt
surface course, the assessment of which was not included in the
study; a 200 mm base course comprised of RCA stabilized with 7%
cement - A; a 200 mm subbase course with a mix of RCA and RMA,
with a ratio of coarse RMA to fine RMA of 7:3, stabilized with 6%
cement - B; an undercourse containing a mix of RCA and RMA, with
a ratio of coarse RMA to fine RMA of 6:4, stabilized with 5% cement
- C. Two types of subgrades were considered: either a 250 mm
treated subgrade containing a mix of RCA and RMA, with a ratio of
coarse RMA to fine RMA of 5:5, stabilized with 5% cement - D; or a
250 mm treated subgrade containing a mix of RCA and RMA, with a
ratio of coarse NA (limestone) to fine RMA of 5:5, stabilized with 6%
lime - E. Using a roller compactor, all layers exhibited a degree of
compaction over 95% (Fig. 3); dry density values around 2.09 g/cm3,
1.91 g/cm3, 1.94 g/cm3, 1.95 g/cm3 and 1.87 g/cm3 were reported for
layers A, B, C, D and E, respectively.
Compaction moisture contents of about 13.5%, 13.0%, 11.0%,
10.5% and 14%, respectively were obtained. The section of the test
track containing a lime-stabilized subgrade exhibited significantly
higher deflection in comparison with that of the cement-treated
one (difference of 1.12 mm). All cement-treated RA layers were
found to exhibit adequate structural capacity for the intended
volume of traffic.
4. Case studies on the use of RA in bitumen bound
applications
4.1. Cold in situ recycling of bound and unbound layers of the A9
trunk road, United Kingdom
Around half of the A9 between Perth and Inverness, in the
United Kingdom, was made with flexible composite road pavement
in the mid-1970s. This type of construction incorporated a cement-
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Fig. 3. Dry density and moisture content of different combinations of compacted materials used in a rural road in shanghai, China (adapted from Jia et al. (2015)).
bound base layer overlain with asphalt. Experience with this type of
road has shown that reflective cracking often occurs in the asphalt
layer. In 1998, a section of the A9 near Aviemore had deteriorated to
the extent that it exhibited regular transverse cracks. In 1998, an
1850 m cold in situ recycling project was undertaken since it could
offer a relatively quick and low-cost method of reconstruction
(WRAP, 2003a). No publicly available guidance and specification for
cold in situ recycling as a maintenance option existed at the time of
the project. Design and construction was based on experience of
recycling works carried out elsewhere. The project involved
reviewing the essential design and process control records, coring
the road and three falling weight deflectometer (FWD) surveys
undertaken in April 1999, November 1999 and June 2000. Infor-
mation from the project was used to assist the development of a
structural design methodology and specification for the structural
maintenance of road pavements using cold, in situ recycling
techniques.
For environmental reasons, it is best to recycle existing pave-
ment materials when the economic balance is favourable. The cold
in situ recycling technique can be cost-effective and environmen-
tally beneficial by providing an alternative to using new materials.
Nonetheless, it is important to balance the risk of early life damage
to the bound recycled material with the potential benefits. There-
fore, the decision to use cold in situ recycling ultimately depends on
the nature of the existing pavement, future traffic levels and
availability of appropriate plant and skilled operators.
The A9 is considered to experience the most severe winter
conditions on trunk roads in the United Kingdom. Owing to ex-
pected cold weather during construction, foamed bitumen was
selected as the primary binder with some added cement as an
adhesion agent. About 135 mm of the old pavement surface was
removed. The existing lean concrete base layer and upper layer of
the granular sub-base were then pulverized to a nominal depth of
240 mm. Portland cement was spread over the surface at 12 kg/m2
and mixed into the pulverized materials to give a nominal cement
content of 2%. Foamed bitumen was then mixed into the pulverized
layers using a recycling machine to produce a stabilized material
with a nominal bitumen content of 4.5%. The material was then
graded and compacted to provide a base course layer with a dense,
stable appearance. Conventional construction of 80 mm dense
bituminous macadam base course (binder course) and 50 mm hot
7
rolled asphalt wearing course (surface course) completed the
construction of the pavement.
The process control records showed that the pulverized aggre-
gate particle size distribution, cement content, moisture content
and compaction of the stabilized foamed bitumen bound base layer
satisfied the specification requirements. The coring found that the
bitumen content of the stabilized base layer was variable. Coring of
cold in situ recycled foamed bitumen stabilized material was diffi-
cult, particularly in the early life of the stabilized pavement. A
protocol was developed to optimize the core recovery. The FWD
data was analysed and stiffness calculated. Stiffness values for the
combined bound layers of the pavement (i.e. recycled layer plus
base layer and wearing course) should be of the order of 2.5 GPa
within a period of 270 days for a foamed-bitumen bound option.
This target was not achieved at Granish, as the measured gain in
stiffness was slow. However, stiffness values calculated in June
2000 were roughly equivalent to the recommended level and the
road was performing well at the time of the last readings.
4.2. A316 resurfacing pilot project, United Kingdom
The A316 at Twickenham in West London was chosen as a site
for trialling Transport for London's Business Procurement Efficiency
Programme (WRAP, 2004). Part of the carriageway was to be
removed and have a new base and wearing course laid (Fig. 4). This
trial was managed by Transport for London's North West Area team.
This assessment made throughout this case study focused on the
cost of using recycled material, comparing it with an estimate of
what the works would have cost if conventional materials were
used.
The construction works were carried out within a concise
timeframe, between 21:30 and 05:00 over one week, to minimize
traffic disruption. No work was to be done if the temperature
dropped below 4  C 100 mm of existing surfacing was scraped off
and the area resurfaced with a 35 mm thick wearing course and
65 mm thick high density bituminous macadam base course with
RA, which was laid in the same way as a conventional high-density
bituminous macadam base course. The mix for this contained 55%
recycled materials, of which 35% were RA from asphalt planings.
Around 2000 tonnes of recycled materials were used.
The use of RA offered an immediate cost saving of about 0.50
8 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Fig. 4. Carriageway: a) before trials; b) after trials (WRAP, 2004).
£/m2 against conventional NA. Other benefits of using RA included
the reduction of extraction, processing and use of natural resources
and reduction in the volume of CDW materials that would other-
wise be sent to landfill. In spite of the successful use of RA as ma-
terial for bitumen bound base course, some problems were
encountered, but ultimately overcome. There were concerns that
the recycled mix would be inappropriate at this thickness and thus
hot rolled asphalt with 20 mm chippings was used instead.
4.3. A34 Chieveley/M4 junction 13 improvement, United Kingdom
The A34 Chieveley/M4 Junction 13 improvement is a design and
build project to provide full grade separation of the M4/A34 junc-
tion (WRAP, 2005b). It was also meant to eliminate the last
“bottleneck” on the A34 between two major motorways. The works
included construction of 3 km of new dual carriageway to take the
A34 (Fig. 5) through a new underpass below the M4 and refur-
bishment of the M4. The total value of the contract was about
£38 m.
This construction project was originally developed as a solu-
tion for sustainable transport focusing on the sustainable thought
process throughout all stages of the construction's life cycle. As
part of this process, the requirement for imported NA was reduced
by over 50,000 tonnes by using in situ stabilization of soils and
locally sourced RA from processed CDW and RA from road plan-
ings. The latter were used as capping, unbound subbase and in
new asphalt for the base and binder courses of the new car-
riageway. Significant quantities of RA from old asphalt pavements
were obtained at an early stage in the project from levelling works
Fig. 5. Recycled asphalt being placed as Type 4 subbase on new A34 (WRAP, 2005b).
on the M4. This material was then screened and processed. They
were then taken to an asphalt plant where they were incorporated
(10% content) in the new asphalt base and binder course layers.
The bitumen content of the material was checked, and the binder
content of the new asphalt adjusted to consider this. The materials
were used in the base (28 mm) and binder (20 mm) course of the
new A34.
A total of 56,000 tonnes of RA were used and 7350 tonnes of soil
were stabilized. The import of unbound granular fill was limited to
16,650 tonnes of NA. The RA complied with all the specification
requirements for the relevant applications. No problems were
encountered with placing the materials, and the road sections
made with RA performed as well those made with NA only. The use
of materials from levelling works collected in situ resulted in
considerable savings. The project had already foreseen the reuse of
RA from asphalt pavements, as this was allowed by the Specifica-
tion for Highway Works. If the specification had not allowed the
reuse of these materials, the extra cost to the client would have
been approximately £70,000.
4.4. Okehampton recycling centre and access road, United Kingdom
In August 2001, the Engineering Design Group from the Devon
County Council was requested by the County Waste Management
Officer to design an improved facility for recycling household waste
in Okehampton (WRAP, 2003b). This included the pavement
structures, buildings and street furniture. Early in the design pro-
cess, it was noted that, to contribute to sustainable waste man-
agement, the design and construction should reflect this need
through careful use of natural resources and extensive use of
recycled materials. The contract was carried out using a sustainable
approach with no additional cost or perceived reduction in dura-
bility. In addition, to meet this need, it was recognized that the
contractor would also have to be committed to this approach. The
contractor was encouraged to adopt sustainable policies through a
written agreement and a bonus payment scheme. The scheme was
a success in various ways:

The construction of a user-friendly and attractive recycling
centre led to a large increase in the use of the facility

The use of recycled materials in the facility's construction
reduced the volume of material entering the waste stream

The parties involved in the project developed experience in
specifying and using recycled materials, which can be used in
future work.
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
The project design included the construction of 1140 m2 of
reinforced concrete surface slabs, for containers and waste
standing, and 1850 m2 of flexible carriageway construction for
vehicle circulation, parking and other operational areas. In addi-
tion, 910 m2 of the site was finished in soil as landscaped areas and
other works including fencing, kerbing and drainage. The Devon
County Council Materials Engineer was consulted regarding
maximization of the use of sustainable materials, whilst taking
into account the need for materials at least as durable as con-
ventional materials.
Although a large proportion of the materials used in the con-
struction of both pavements and structures were RA, apart from
careful monitoring of subbase layer thicknesses, no special con-
struction measures were required. Some additional care was
necessary when placing and compacting the RA from asphalt
planings in the subbase. A maximum layer thickness of around
125 mm was found to be the limit on warm days.
Direct benefits include a reduction in the use of NA of 3159
tonnes, and 610 m3 less of imported topsoil. In addition, having
used recycled materials in construction means that they were taken
out of the waste stream and were disposed of in a landfill. Since the
new recycling centre was built, recycling of all materials increased
significantly. In particular, waste throughout almost doubled, with
the recycling rate increasing from around 2%e67%. This is a good
indication of the importance of providing a facility that is relatively
appealing and user friendly.
5. Case studies on the use of RA in rigid pavement
construction
5.1. University of Waterloo Centre for pavement and Transportation
Technology, Canada
The Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology at
the University of Waterloo, in collaboration with other research
institutions and companies, evaluated the long-term performance
of four concrete pavement test sections with different percentages
of RCA (0%, 15%, 30% and 50%). The test track was a full-scale
accelerated research facility, 1294 m long and 8 m wide built in
2007. The sections were subsequently equipped with vibrating wire
strain gauges and extensometers, which allowed to know the
pavement response over time. After five years of service, compa-
rable performance has been observed in all test sections, indicating
that increasing RCA contents have not noticeably impacted the
pavement performance (Irali et al., 2013).
5.2. Rigid pavement in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Old concrete, sourced from Lambert International Airport area
in St. Louis, Missouri, was crushed and separated into fine and
coarse RCA. These were used to construct a 300-m long experi-
mental pavement section consisting of a 3 m wide concrete
shoulder, 3.6 m wide traffic lane, and a 150 mm wide ditch. Saw-
cutting was performed about 6e8 h after concrete casting. Two
mix proportions with 30% and 40% of coarse RCA were tested. No
problems with the recycled material's placement, finishing, and
tinning were observed at the job site. The 91-day compressive
strength decreased by 7% and 12% after incorporating 30% and 40%,
respectively, of RCA (39.8 MPa and 37.5 MPa, respectively, in com-
parison with the 42.6 MPa for the reference NAC). The reference
mix and the one with 30% RCA had similar shrinkage and perme-
ability to chloride ions after 28 days. However, a shrinkage increase
of 100 mε and 300 C in total charge passed were observed for the
40% RCA samples. All mixes exhibited durability factors over 87%
and thus presented good resistance to freezing and thawing cycles.
9
None of the mixes presented significant differences in terms of
deformation (Sadati and Khayat, 2016).
5.3. Section Interstate-10 in Houston, Texas, USA
The Interstate 10 (I-10) is one of the most important motorways
in the southern part of the United States; it runs east from Anthony,
through El Paso, to the border with Louisiana. In 1995, the Texas
Department of Transportation started reconstruction of a 9.3 km
section with continuously reinforced concrete pavement made
with coarse and fine RCA from the existing pavement's concrete.
The original pavement was built in 1968 and served heavy traffic
for almost 30 years. A detailed study was conducted to evaluate
concrete material properties containing RCA. The moisture control
of the RA, especially fine aggregate, was critical in producing
workable concrete.
The recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) exhibited lower density,
compressive and indirect tensile strength when compared to that
of control concrete. The densities of RAC ranged from 2.16 to
2.21 Mg/m3. The average 28-day compressive strength of the 15
cores taken from the pavement was of 31.8 MPa. The average in-
direct tensile strength value was 3.3 MPa. The modulus of elasticity
was 18.8 GPa, much lower than that normally observed for normal
concrete and comparable to that of lightweight aggregate concrete.
The coefficient of thermal expansion value ranged from 8.5 to 9.5
mε/C. This value is comparable to that of control concrete. The
average sulphate value obtained was of 1436 ppm and the average
chloride content was of 0.03 kg/m3. The sulphate content was
comparable to that in the natural aggregate concrete. It was
established that the high water absorption of the RCA-containing
concrete, which was higher than that of the conventional con-
crete, would not cause performance problems in the mild weather
conditions of the Houston area. Also, even though ettringite was
observed in the coarse RCA’ surface porous, it did not cause any
damage to the concrete.
Field performance of the pavement was evaluated in terms of
transverse crack spacing, crack widths, and spalling. The average
crack spacing was of 2.19 m. This crack spacing was found to be
larger than that of siliceous river gravel concrete but is comparable
to that of limestone concrete. Low modulus of elasticity of RAC and
the good adhesion between the coarse RCA and the new mortar
were considered key factors for the pavement's good pavement.
The large content of old adhered mortar in coarse RCA did not
appear to have an adverse effect on the reinforced concrete pave-
ment's performance. Furthermore, after 10 years of service under
heavy traffic, the 100% RCA-containing reinforced concrete pave-
ment section was still exhibiting excellent performance without
any single structural distress (Choi and Won, 2009).
5.4. Austrian Salzburg-Vienna A1 concrete motorway, Austria
The A1, built between 1955 and 1978, is Austria's main east-west
thoroughfare and part of the major European routes. It has around
55,000 to 110,000 average daily traffic, wherein 12%e15% belongs
to commercial lorry traffic. In the 1980s, it was established that the
existing pavement needed to be replaced with new concrete;
reconstruction began in 1991. The use of NA for the reconstruction
of 300 km of motorway was considered as a waste of natural re-
sources and thus the Austrian Cement Makers' Research Institute
proposed solving this problem with the use of the old pavement.
The new concrete was made with a mix of 4/32 mm RCA and 0/
4 mm NA. The RCA had up to 10% asphalt particles from the existing
pavement. It was considered that the RCA's finer fraction could not
be used as it would significantly affect the pavement's freeze-thaw
resistance. It was established that 365 kg/m3 of cement were
10 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629

necessary to meet strength requirements. The shrinkage test re-
sults suggested that the RAC was in the range of what was normally
expected of some mixes of conventional concrete in Austria. NA
were used for the concrete with exposed aggregate. It was reported
that stabilizing the subbase and recycling the existing pavement
was 5% cheaper than the traditional alternative, not accounting for
the environmental benefits. The success of this project led to the
adoption of two-lift paving using RCA in the lower lift as standard
practice in Austria and other European countries (Sommer, 2012).
5.5. Dundee biotechnology park, United Kingdom
This project was proposed by Dundee City Council for a second
phase of development of a biotechnology park, comprising a new
access road, treatment of boundary walls and ground preparation
on the site of what was formerly the largest Jute Mill in Dundee.
This required removal of the existing factory floors and the un-
derground foundations containing a large volume of concrete.
These floors were excavated, sorted and crushed to produce RCA
and MRA (consisting mainly of brick). Both materials were used in
the construction of a 95 m length access road, consisting of 19
panels, and a roundabout consisting of six large panels. This was
specified for the most aggressive freeze-thaw environment in
BS850022015A12016, 2016 with a minimum air content of 3.5%
(20 mm aggregates) and consisted of a 150 mm deep RCA concrete
layer laid on top of a 300 mm deep unbound MRA subbase. In
addition, pigmentation and imprinting were required since the
client requested that the finished surface resemble an existing road
from the first phase of development where red coloured block
paving had been used. To provide additional protection, poly-
propylene fibres were added to the concrete mix to help prevent
cracking due to drying shrinkage.
Construction joints were formed between each 5 m panel and
expansion joints at every third panel (i.e. every 15 m). Joints were
formed by using 400 mm long stainless-steel bars (to minimize
corrosion problems from the relatively high chloride content of the
RCA). No other reinforcement was used in the pavement. A number
of panels were constructed using NA (both gravel aggregate and
basalt) for comparison. Specimens were taken from selected mixes
for testing in the laboratories of the Concrete Technology Unit at the
University of Dundee, and overall results showed a more than
satisfactory performance (Dhir et al., 2004).

rdoba, Spain
5.6. Rabanales bike lane, Co
6. Case studies on the use of RA in concrete applications
6.1. Hong Kong Wetland park, Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Wetland Park, which was completed in 2006, is
close to the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Fig. 6). It
has a 10,000 m2 visitor centre including exhibition galleries, AV
theatres, souvenir shops, cafes, children's play areas, classrooms
and a resources centre (Poon and Chan, 2007). In its construction,
RA replaced part of the NA used in the majority of structural con-
crete. The highest concrete grade using RA was grade C35. The
target slump was 100 mm but 75 mm slump concrete was also
used. The project started in April 2003 and a total volume of around
13,000 m3 of RAC was used. The applications of RAC included pile
caps, ground slabs, beams, walls and mass concrete, in addition to
the more usual minor concrete works and concrete blinding.
The replacement levels of coarse RA were 100% and 20%.
Because the experience in the use of RA in concrete was undevel-
oped at the beginning of the project, the cement content of RAC
mixes was deliberately increased by around 4%. This was done to
compensate for the high water content required by the RA to
achieve a similar w/c ratio. The results listed in Table 4 show that
the average 28-day cube compressive strength of RAC used in the
project were similar to those of conventional NAC.
The authors received feedback from the contractors of this
project that concrete containing 20% RA was very similar to NAC. No
cracks that could be attributed to shrinkage were observed and
carbonation tests revealed no traceable carbonation depth over the
first two-year period.
6.2. Bundesgartenschau decorative concrete elements, Germany
In 1999, large concrete elements were used to adorn the land-
scape for the Federal Gardening Exhibition (Bundesgartenschau) in
Magdeburg, Germany (Fig. 7). Some of these decorative elements
were manufactured using coarse RA from crushed clay bricks
(RMA), crushed concrete (RCA) or a mixture of the two (MRA).
For reasons of design, either white or brown cement was used.
The surfaces of the elements were prepared to expose the fracture
planes of the coarse aggregates. When combined with the partic-
ular colours of the type of cement used, special decorative effects
could be achieved. All the concrete compositions were developed
for outdoor exposure.

In 2014, the Public Works Agency of the Regional Government of

Andalusia and the University of Co
rdoba built an experimental
3.4 km bike line on a section of a cyclist route that connects the

rdoba with the University Campus. The
urban area of the city of Co
bike lane was built using two coarse MRA from CDW. The ditches
were built with non-structural concrete made with 100% MRA
composed of 44% of mortar and concrete, 30% ceramic particles,
24% unbound aggregates and 2% of other materials. The concrete
was made with 200 kg/m3 of cement, 720 kg/m3 coarse RA,
1070 kg/m3 of natural sand and with a w/c ratio of 0.65. Two water
reducing admixtures were also used (9e10 mL per kg of cement) to
achieve a slump range of 150 ± 30 mm, comparable with that of the
control concrete. The compressive strength losses relative to the
control concrete decreased over time (15.7%, 12.1% and 10.2% after
28, 90 and 180 days, respectively). The use of MRA in concrete had a
significant influence on the physical properties related to dura-
bility. Nevertheless, the ditches were considered to be in perfect
condition after three years of service (Uceda, 2017). Fig. 6. Hong Kong Wetland Park visitor centre lobby (Kevinhksouth, 2006).
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Table 4
Test results of RAC and NAC used for the Hong Kong Wetland Park (Fong et al., 2004; Poon and Chan, 2007).
Grade Replacement level (%) Slump (mm) w/c ratio
C20 100 75 0.61
0 0.60
C30 20 75 0.49
0 0.51
C35 20 100 0.47
0 0.47
20 75 0.47
0 0.48
Fig. 7. Jahrtausendturm in magdeburg, Germany (WikimediaCommons, 2018).
6.3. “Waldspirale” building project, Germany
The “Waldspirale” apartment building designed by Frie-
densreich Hundertwassers is located in Darmstadt, Germany. It
contains 105 apartments, garage parking, a kiosk, a cafe and a bar.
The inner courtyard has a playground for children and a small
artificial lake (Grübl et al., 1999). The diagonal roof is planted with
grass, shrubs, flowers and trees, and rises like a ramp in a U-form.
At its highest point, the building has 12 floors (Fig. 8). Each window
of the “Waldspirale”, which number over 1000, is unique (no two
are the same). Similarly, the handles of the doors and windows of
each apartment are different. Furthermore, all corners in these
apartments are rounded off along the roof and walls. The “Wald-
spirale” project was built using RAC, for which a consistency-
controlled method was developed and implemented. This is due
to the problems that occur when using RA with relatively high
Fig. 8. Waldspirale apartment building in Darmstadt, Germany (Radig, 2011).
11
Cement content (kg/m3) 28-day compressive strength (MPa)
300 31.4
290 32.8
360 44.7
345 42.1
395 47.3
380 48.2
380 47.1
365 45.8
water absorption. The objective of this approach was to reduce the
compressive strength's scatter by keeping the initial consistency
constant for all mixes. All aggregate fractions' grading curves were
within manageable ranges. During construction, all concrete mixes
in use were tested. A C25 grade concrete mix with a 360e380 mm
slump flow was used for the foundations. For walls, slabs and pil-
lars, a C25 grade concrete mix with a 400e420 mm slump flow was
used.
Numerous tests were conducted on both the fresh and hardened
properties of concrete during its production. The results of the
compressive strength at the mixing plant tests show that all con-
crete mixes reached their target strength class or even turned out
better than expected. The mean compressive strength value was
52.3 MPa, which was much higher than needed. It was therefore
decided to increase the workability by adding extra water. This
reduced the mean value to 42.3 MPa. The values of the construction
site test cubes were similar. It was observed that, after applying the
two aforementioned measures during the production process, RAC
showed no significant differences relative to concrete made with
NA. Furthermore, it can also be cast or pumped in the same way as a
standard concrete mix.
6.4. Environmental building at Building Research Establishment,
United Kingdom
The Environmental Building is an office and seminar facility at
the heart of the main Building Research Establishment (BRE) site in
Watford, UK. It was designed to act as a model for low energy and
environmentally aware office buildings of the 21st century. J Sisk &
Son Ltd constructed the building according to the design of a team
led by architects Feilden Clegg in consultation with BRE staff. RA
were used under the supervision of structural engineers Buro
Happold and BRE staff. This building incorporates the first-ever use
in the UK of RA in ready-mixed concrete.
The coarse RA used in this project were sourced from crushed
concrete from Suffolk house, a 12-storey office block that had been
demolished in central London and used in over 1500 m3 of concrete
applied for foundations, floor slabs, columns and waffle floors. For
the foundations, a C25 grade concrete mix with 75 mm slump was
specified. Due to the ground conditions (relatively high concen-
tration of sulphate), a minimum binder content of 330 kg/m3 and a
maximum free w/c ratio of 0.50 were specified. For floor slabs,
structural columns and waffle floors, a C35 grade concrete mix, also
with 75 mm slump, was specified. Cement containing 70% ground
granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) was chosen for the C25 mix to
maximize chemical resistance. For the C35 concrete mixes, this
content was reduced to 50% of GGBS and 50% of cement for pro-
tection against carbonation. All mixes contained 985 kg/m3 of
coarse RCA apart from mixes intended for pumping, in which this
was reduced by 50 kg/m3 and the cement content increased by
10 kg/m3 (ETN, 2000).
12 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
6.5. Strong floor at BRE Cardington Laboratory, United Kingdom
One of the goals of the construction of a second strong floor at
the BRE Cardington Laboratory was to demonstrate the feasibility of
using low quality coarse MRA to replace 20% of NA. The heavily
reinforced slab is 0.5 m thick and forms the base of the European
Concrete Building Project. In February 1996, 500 m3 of concrete
were placed in one day, using 100 tonnes of RA (containing up to
50% of brick fragments). Apart from the use of RA, the mix design
for concrete was almost identical to that for the first strong floor
built at Cardington (385 kg/m3 of cementitious material, made up
of 70% ground granulated blast furnace slag and 30% ordinary
Portland cement), and with a similar strength development
(reaching about 60 MPa in 91 days). The RA did not affect the
pumping and placing of concrete, nor was there any effect on
production schedules with up to 10 truckloads of concrete being
delivered per hour (ETN, 2000).
6.6. Samwoh Eco-Green Building, Singapore
In response to a Government call, Samwoh Corporation PTC Ltd,
a leading integrated construction company and green products
supplier participated in a demonstration project to build Samwoh
Eco-Green Building, the first building structure in the region using
concrete with up to 100% RCA derived from CDW (Ho et al., 2015). It
was officially opened in March 2010 and it is part of the Samwoh
Eco-Green Park. The building was constructed as part of a research
project partially funded by the Ministry of National Development of
Singapore. The project was undertaken by Samwoh, Building and
Construction Authority (BCA) and Nanyang Technological Univer-
sity. The objective of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of
using RCA produced from CDW in structural concrete. It involved
two stages: extensive evaluation of the performance of concrete
containing RCA; construction and structural monitoring of a three-
storey building constructed using concrete made with RCA.
Based on a laboratory study, C40 grade concrete, with up to
100% RCA, was used to construct the building in the second stage of
the project. The RAC was used for the construction of all the
structural members of the building, which included beams, col-
umns, slabs and walls. The RAC's 28-day compressive strength was
found to be between 55 MPa and 60 MPa, whereas the flexural and
splitting tensile strengths were about 3.8 MPa and 3.1 MPa,
respectively. In comparison with the control NAC, the RAC with
100% RCA showed an increase of 21% in creep coefficient. To
monitor the in-situ performance of the RAC, fibre-optic sensors
were installed to measure the columns' deformation. The data
gathered from this research helped BCA to update the building code
requirements to allow the use of RCA in all buildings. The building
has been awarded the BCA Green Mark in the “Platinum” category
(the highest award given to buildings with exemplary green and
sustainable features).
6.7. The “Recycled House” in Odense, Denmark
In the early 1990's, the “Recycled House” in Odense, Denmark
was built in an attempt to ascertain the volume of old materials that
could be reincorporated in to the construction of a new house. It is a
2-storey and 2-wing building with 14 cooperative non-profit flats
in the centre of Odense. Aside from the reuse of old bricks, windows
and wooden elements, crushed concrete from a bridge and a nearby
air raid bunker were used in the production of new concrete.
Approximately 275 m3 of RAC were produced containing coarse RA
from crushed ceramic tiles and concrete with particle sizes of
4e32 mm (Lauritzen, 1993). Depending on the application, the RAC
was designed with target strength varying from 5 to 30 MPa.
6.8. Recycling plant weighing house, Winnenden, Germany
The recycling centre of Schief Entsorgungs GmbH & Co. KG, in
Winnenden, Germany, treats different waste mass flows and
decided to incorporate RAC in the construction of the new weighing
house and sections of a retaining wall, in line with the company's
circular economy and innovative spirit (Fig. 9). All concrete mixes
were designed to contain higher levels of RA than that recom-
mended in the country's regulations (the fraction > 2 mm was
comprised of 100% RA) without affecting the resulting material's
performance. Three types of concrete were used: C25/30 with a
flow class of F3, and exposed to environmental classes of XC4, XF1,
and XA1 according to EN-206:2013þA1, (2016); C30/37, F3, XC4,
XD2, XF4, XA1; C35/45, F3, XC4, XD2, XF2, XF3, XA2. For the slabs
and rising walls, 100 m3 of the first type of concrete were used,
whereas the two other types of concrete were used in the last
construction phase of a nearby retaining wall.
6.9. Semi-detached houses, Ludwigshafen-Edigheim, Germany
The construction project in Ludwigshafen-Edigheim was an
initiative in line with the “Kreislaufwirtschaft aus dem Bau” (Cir-
cular Economy in Construction) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Climate Protection, Energy and Regional Planning of the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate (RC-Beton, 2018c). This project was meant to
provide greater impulse and experiences in the region on the topic
of resource-efficient construction. Almost 500 m3 of C25/30 con-
crete (environmental classes of XC4, XF1 and XA1 according to EN-
206:2013 þ A1 (2016), containing 35% of RCA, were used for the
construction of the semi-detached houses’ slabs and basement
walls.
6.10. Science and Technology Centre, Heilbronn, Germany
In the centre of Zukunftspark Wohlgelegen in Heilbronn, the
Wissenschafts-und Technologiezentrum (WTZ - Science and Tech-
nology Centre) was built in 2012 (Fig. 10) (RC-Beton, 2018b). Two of
its buildings (WTZ I and WTZ II) harbour innovative companies in
the field of medical and environmental technology as well as IT of-
fices and laboratories. The WTZ I and WTZ II 5-storey buildings
(including basement) have useable areas of about 1900 m2 and
2400 m2, respectively. Approximately 1250 m3 and 1400 m3 of con-
crete were needed for the two structures, respectively. All mixes
contained 18%e20% of Type I coarse RA, according to DIN-4226-101,
2017. Different mix designs of concrete were formulated depending
on the position of the structural concrete element. Floor slabs were
made with concrete with strength classes of C25/30 and C30/37 and
with environmental classes of XC3/XA1/XF1. Columns and parapets
in outdoor areas were made with concrete mixes with the same
strength class, but with a XC4 class due to the increased exposure to
atmospheric carbon dioxide. Internal walls, columns and slabs were
designed with a XC1 exposure class.
6.11. Office building, Mannheim-Neuostheim, Germany
This construction project of an office building (completed by
April 2016) of the company BAU in Mannheim was initiated and
supported within the framework of a research project commis-
sioned by the Ministry of the Environment Baden-Württemberg.
About 100 m3 of C20/25 (XC2) concrete were used in walls and
slabs, whereas the floor slab, foundations and slab walls were made
with about 650 m3 of C25/30 (XC4, XF1) concrete (Fig. 11). The RA
used in these concrete mixes was Type 2 RA, which is comprised of
relatively high quantities of constituents coming from crushed
masonry elements.
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Fig. 9. Weighing house of Schief Entsorgungs GmbH & Co. KG, in Winnenden, Germany (RC-Beton, 2018d).
Fig. 10. Science and technology centre, Heilbronn (RC-Beton, 2018b).
Fig. 11. Office building in Mannheim-Neuostheim (RC-Beton, 2018a).
7. Conclusions
There is probably no better way of raising awareness of suc-
cessful application of new materials than by demonstrating their
success in the shape of full-scale trials (Table 5 summarizes the case
studies presented in this paper). As observed in other economic
sectors, since the construction industry does not easily absorb
innovation as, the main advantage of this approach is that it allows
engineers to see the material in a context that they can relate to.
Indeed, one of the keys to the specification of materials is the
knowledge that those materials have a long and successful history
of use. This is a key drawback to the implementation of new
13
materials and makes it imperative that any successful use of a new
material is widely published.
For some time now, there have been several real-scale road
applications comprised of RA, the experience of which has indi-
cated the material's technical and economic viability. Indeed, the
use of RA is routinely used in most countries and thus, since it
became current practice, in-depth case studies stopped being car-
ried out and disseminated. Naturally, the corresponding collated
case studies are relatively older. Such applications include the use
of RA in unbound, hydraulically-bound and bitumen-bound road
pavement layers.
The production of RAC, however, is rare and thus new explor-
atory studies on the use of the material in real situations keep
appearing. Several transportation agencies, e.g. the US Federal
Highway Administration, have disclosed that, in spite of some
problems associated with shrinkage, cracking and susceptibility to
freezing and thawing, most road infrastructures built with RAC
performed well. Furthermore, the production of non-structural
concrete elements in road construction, such as kerbs, pavers, Jer-
sey barriers, has also been considered as a particularly interesting
outlet for RA since their requirements are not as strict as those of
structural elements.
Concerning the use of RAC in building construction, there have
been isolated case studies appearing initially with a significant
increase in number more recently. Many of these more recent cases
were carried out in Germany, wherein existing regulations impose
the greater use of RA, facilitated even further by comprehensive
specifications. Those projects have shown that the appropriate use
of recycled materials can yield financial and environmental benefits
by reducing the volume of natural resources used and the volume
of waste that would otherwise go to landfill, especially if the RA are
14 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629

Table 5
Summary table of the case studies described in this paper (RAP - recycled asphalt pavement; RGA - recycled glass aggregate; R.L. - Replacement level of corresponding size
fraction).

No. Application Location Year RA RL Main observations Ref.

type

2.1 Unbound base Finland 1998 RCA 100% The self-cementitious properties of RCA led to an increasing load bearing capacity of the ETN (2000)
motorway.
2.2 Unbound subbase Portugal 2009 RCA 100% FWD tests showed that RCA layers showed higher elastic moduli (~450 MPa) than the Fernandes et al.
minimum expected for conventional aggregates (150 MPa). (2009)
2.3 Unbound base and Singapore 2008 RCA 100% The IRI of sections with coarse and fine RCA was similar to or even better than that of Lee et al. (2009);
subbase the control sections. Lee et al. (2011)
2.4 Unbound mound dam The 1992 RMA 100% The successful experiences obtained at Ventjagersplaatled led to the suggestion of less ETN (2000)
Netherlands strict requirements for alternative materials for mound dams.
2.5 Capping layer UK 2004 RCA/ 4%/ Using recycled and secondary aggregates instead of NA led to total savings of almost £2 WRAP (2003c)
RAP 29% million.
3.1 Hydraulically-bound Singapore 2008 RCA 100% Similar IRI values were observed between RCA and control base layers and the Ho et al. (2008)
base deflection of the former was lower.
3.2 Cement-treated Spain 2009 MRA 100% Although higher water content was required for optimum compaction, the cement- Agrela et al.
subbase layer bound MRA presented appropriate mechanical performance and low deflections under (2012)
impact load.
3.3 Cement-treated Spain 2008 RCA 100% Use of cement-treated RCA instead of soil led to an enhanced mechanical performance Ainchil et al.
subbase layer and similar to that expected of cement-treated gravel. (2009)
3.4 Treated general fill UK 2007 Tunnel 100% Reusing the processed tunnel spoil decreased the number of lorry movements by WRAP (2005a)
spoil around 400 thousand and savings of about £10 million.
4.1 Bitumen base course UK 1998 RCA 100% The FWD data showed that the target elastic modulus of 2.5 GPa for the combined WRAP (2003a)
bound layers, which was supposed to be achieved within a period of 270 days, was
attained almost 600 days later.
4.2 High density UK 2004 RAP 35% The use of RAP with other alternative materials offered a savings of £0.50/m2 when WRAP (2004)
bituminous macadam compared to NA. No appreciable differences were observed between the recycled and
base course conventional mixes.
4.3 Bitumen base/binder UK 2004 RAP 10% About 54,000 tonnes of RAP were used in several sections avoiding the purchase of an WRAP (2005b)
courses equivalent mass of NA and corresponding transportation costs.
4.4 Bitumen binder course UK 2003 RGA 100% No special construction measures were required. Though costs were equivalent to those WRAP (2003b)
of a conventional construction, indirect financial benefits included the removal of
materials out of the waste stream.
5.1 Rigid concrete Canada 2007 RCA 50% After five years, similar performance was observed for all test sections, suggesting that Irali et al. (2013)
pavement RCA did not impacted the pavement's performance negatively.
5.2 Rigid concrete USA 2016 RCA 40% Core samples showed that compressive strength and shrinkage of mixes with 40% RCA Sadati and
pavement were about 12% lower and 25% higher when compared to the control, though similar Khayat (2016)
long-term deformations were observed.
5.3 Rigid concrete USA 1995 RCA 100% Little difference in terms of performance was observed between the recycled (100% Choi and Won
pavement coarse and fine) and conventional concrete pavements (tight cracks, little spalling, (2009)
equivalent thermal coefficients and permeability.
5.4 Rigid concrete Austria 1991 RCA 100% The use of 100% coarse RCA did not impair the freeze/thaw resistance and yielded Sommer (2012)
pavement adequate flexural strength. Stabilizing the subbase and recycling the existing pavement
was 5% cheaper than the traditional alternative.
5.5 Rigid concrete UK 2003 RCA 100% This project showed that RCA concrete is suitable for use in a XF4 environment and that Dhir et al. (2004)
pavement it can be mixed in combination with air-entraining agents, pigments and polypropylene
fibres.
5.6 Rigid concrete Spain 2014 MRA 100% 100% coarse MRA caused a decrease in strength when compared to the control sections Uceda (2017)
pavement but the difference between the two shortened over time.
6.1 Structural concrete Hong Kong 2006 RCA 100% Using up to 100% coarse RCA with a slight increase in cement content (4%) resulted in Poon and Chan
elements mixes with comparable compressive strength. Elements with 20% coarse RCA showed (2007)
similar performance to control concrete.
6.2 Non-structural concrete Germany 1999 RCA/ 100% When used in combination with brown and white cement, special decorative effects ETN (2000)
MRA were achieved alongside the coarse aggregates' exposed surface.
6.3 Structural concrete Germany 2000 MRA 30% No significant differences were observed between the recycled and conventional Grübl et al.
elements concrete and RAC could be pumped in the same way. (1999)
6.4 Structural concrete UK 1996 RCA 100% 100% coarse RCA needed a 10% cement content increase and reduction of aggregate ETN (2000)
elements content to achieve adequate fresh and hardened performance.
6.5 Structural concrete slab UK 1996 MRA 20% The RAC's strength development was similar to that expected from a conventional ETN (2000)
concrete (91-day compressive strength of 60 MPa). Pumping and casting of concrete
was not affected by the use of RA.
6.6 Structural concrete Singapore 2010 RCA 100% Up to 100% coarse without compensating water absorption and using water reducing Ho et al. (2015)
elements admixtures yielded mixes with equivalent mechanical and durability performance to
that of the control concrete.
6.7 Structural concrete Denmark 1993 RCA e About 275 m3 of RAC made with coarse RA were used. Being a demonstration project, Lauritzen (1993)
elements although some setbacks were observed, considerable experience was obtained on the
use of RAC.
6.8 Structural concrete Germany 2014 RCA 100% Even though the coarse aggregate fraction was completely replaced (100% coarse RA, RC-Beton
elements higher than that in German regulations), the designed slump and target strength were (2018d)
achieved for all concrete mixes.
6.9 Structural concrete Germany e RCA 35% About 500 m3 of concrete containing 35% of coarse RCA, of target strength C25/30, and RC-Beton
elements environmental classes of XC4/XF1/XA1 were produced and used in the houses' slabs (2018d)
and basement walls.
 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Table 5 (continued )
No. Application Location Year RA RL Main observations
type
6.10 Structural concrete Germany 2012 RCA 20% A total of about 2650 m3 of concrete containing up to 20% coarse RCA, with strength
elements classes of C25/30 and C30/37 and with environmental classes of XC3/XA1/XF1 were
produced and used in several elements.
6.11 Structural concrete Germany 2016 MRA e Around 750 m3 of concrete were used in walls, slabs, and foundations. Although the RA
elements used in these concrete mixes was Type 2, which is of lesser quality according to German
regulations, strength target were achieved.
sourced in-situ. Even though RAC in these applications have shown
pathologies similar to the abovementioned, these are easily miti-
gated and the risks associated with using RA in a new product are
decreasing over time with the development of more detailed
specifications, which is a key factor that can help reduce the
resistance to innovation and reluctance to alter corporate pur-
chasing practices.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the CERIS
Research Institute, IST - University of Lisbon and FCT - Foundation
for Science and Technology.
References
BS-8500-2:2015þA1:2016, 2016. Concrete. Complementary British Standard to BS
EN 206. Specification for Constituent Materials and Concrete. British Standards
Institution (BSI), United Kingdom.
EN-206:2013þA1, 2016. Concrete - Specification, Performance, Production and
Conformity. Comite
Europe
en de Normalisation (CEN), Brussels, Belgium.

nchez de Juan, M., Ayuso, J., Geraldes, V.L., Jime
Agrela, F., Sa
nez, J.R., 2011. Limiting
properties in the characterisation of mixed recycled aggregates for use in the
manufacture of concrete. Constr. Build. Mater. 25 (10), 3950e3955.
Agrela, F., Barbudo, A., Ramírez, A., Ayuso, J., Carvajal, M.D., Jime
nez, J.R., 2012.
Construction of road sections using mixed recycled aggregates treated with
cement in Malaga, Spain. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 58, 98e106.
Ainchil, J.P., Cadenas, J.M., Rios, C., Corte
s, C., Sampedro, A.,
Va
zquez, E.,
Navarro, J.M., 2009. Design and Execution of Soil Cement Layers with C&D
Materials, 2nd International RILEM Conference on Progress of Recycling in the
Built Environment. RILEM Publications SARL, Sa ~o Paulo, Brazil, pp. 165e173.
PMR, 2017. Global Market Study on Construction Aggregates: Crushed Stone
Product Type Segment Projected to Register High Value and Volume CAGR
during 2017 - 2025. Persistence Market Research, New York, USA, p. 235.
Barbudo, A., Galvín, A.P., Agrela, F., Ayuso, J., Jime
nez, J.R., 2012. Correlation analysis
between sulphate content and leaching of sulphates in recycled aggregates
from construction and demolition wastes. Waste Manag. 32 (6), 1229e1235.
Choi, S., Won, M., 2009. Performance of continuously reinforced concrete pavement
containing recycled concrete aggregate. N. Technol. Constr. Rehab. Portland
Cement Concr. Pavement Bridg. Deck Pavement 165e172.
De Brito, J., Silva, R.V., 2016. Current status on the use of recycled aggregates in
concrete: where do we go from here? RILEM Tech. Lett. 1, 1e5.
Dhir, R.K., Dyer, T.D., Paine, K.A., 2004. Dismantling Barriers: Roles for Research in
Realising Markets for Construction and Demolition Wastes, 1st International
Conference on Sustainable Construction: Waste Management. CPG Laboratories
Pte Ltd, Singapore, pp. 1e22.
DIN-4226-101, 2017. Recycled Aggregates for Concrete in Accordance with DIN EN
12620 - Part 101: Types and Regulated Dangerous Substances. Deutsches
Institut für Normungswesen (DIN), Berlin, Germany.
EAA, 2018. A Sustainable Industry for a Sustainable Europe - Annual Review 2016-
2017. European Aggregates Association (EAA), Brussels, Belgium.
EN-197-1, 2011. Cement - Part 1: Composition, Specifications and Conformity
Criteria for Common Cements. Comite
Europe
en de Normalisation (CEN),
Brussels, Belgium.
ETN, 2000. Use of recycled materials as aggregates in the construction industry. ETN
Recycl. Constr. 2 (3 & 4), 1e12.
Eurostat, 2017. Waste statistics in europe. Available at: epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu.
last accessed in 13/06/2017.
Fernandes, E.M., Gomes, S., Gonçalves, F., 2009. In: Elsamex Portugal, S.A. (Ed.),
Recycled aggregates for unbound sub-base pavement layers (in Portuguese)
(Elsamex Portugal, S.A., Aveiro, Portugal).
Fong, W.F.K., Yeung, J.S.K., Poon, C.S., 2004. Hong Kong experience of using recycled
aggregates from construction and demolition materials in ready mix concrete.
In: Wang, K. (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Workshop on Sustainable
Development and Concrete Technology, Beijing, China, pp. 267e275.
Gonza
lez-Fonteboa, B., Martínez-Abella, F., 2007. Shear strength of recycled con-
crete beams. Constr. Build. Mater. 21 (4), 887e893.
15
Ref.
RC-Beton
(2018d)
RC-Beton
(2018d)
Grübl, P., Nealen, A., Schmidt, N., 1999. Concrete made from recycled aggregate:
experiences from the building project Waldspirale. Darmstadt Constr. 14, 1e5.
Ho, N.Y., Lee, Y.P.K., Tan, J.Y., 2008. Beneficial Use of Recycled Concrete Aggregate for
Road Construction in Singapore. 6th International Conference on Road and
Airfield Pavement Technology, Sapporo, Japan, p. 8.
Ho, N.Y., Lee, Y.P.K., Lim, W.F., Chew, K.C., Low, G.L., Ting, S.K., 2015. Evaluation of
RCA concrete for the construction of Samwoh eco-green building. Mag. Concr.
Res. 67 (12), 633e644.
Hu, D., You, F., Zhao, Y., Yuan, Y., Liu, T., Cao, A., Wang, Z., Zhang, J., 2010. Input,
stocks and output flows of urban residential building system in Beijing city,
China from 1949 to 2008. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 54 (12), 1177e1188.
Irali, F., Kivi, A., Smith, J., Tighe, S., Sangiorgi, C., 2013. Recycled Concrete Aggregate
in Concrete Pavements: A Five Year Study on its Effect on Pavement Perfor-
mance, 2013 Conference and Exhibition of the Transportation Association of
Canada - Transportation. Better-Faster-Safer, p. 17.
Jia, X., Ye, F., Huang, B., 2015. Utilization of construction and demolition wastes in
low-volume roads for rural areas in China. Transp. Res. Rec. 2474 (1), 39e47.
Kevinhksouth, 2006. Hong Kong Wetland park. Freely available at: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category. Hong_Kong_Wetland_Park under the
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, last accessed in 20/06/2018.
Lauritzen, E.K., 1993. Proceedings of the third international RILEM symposium on
demolition and reuse of concrete and masonry. In: Lauritzen, E.K. (Ed.), Mater.
Struct. E&EN SPON. Danish Building Research Institute, Odense, Denmark,
p. 627.
Lee, K.Y.P., Ho, N.Y., Tan, J.Y., Yoong, C.C., Lim, J.C., Lee, K.K., 2009. Field Study on the
Use of Recycled Concrete Aggregate for Road Trenching Works in Singapore. 2nd
World Roads Conference Singapore, Singapore, p. 8.
Lee, Y.P.K., Ho, N.Y., Tan, J.Y., Lee, K.K., Foo, S.Y., Ang, S.S.M., 2011. Beneficial Use of
Recycled Concrete Aggregate for Utility Trench Reinstatement, 7th International
Conference on Road and Airfield Pavement Technology. Bangkok, Thailand, p. 8.
LNEC-E473, 2009. Guide for the Use of Recycled Aggregates in Unbound Pavement
Layers (In Portuguese). National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (Laborato
rio
Nacional de Engenharia Civil - LNEC), Portugal.
LNEC-E474, 2009. Guide for the Use of Recycled Materials Coming from Construc-
tion and Demolition Wastes in Embankment and Capping Layer of Transport
Infrastructures (In Portuguese). National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (Lab-
orato
rio Nacional de Engenharia Civil - LNEC), Portugal.
Mas, B., Cladera, A., Olmo, T., Pitarch, F., 2012. Influence of the amount of mixed
recycled aggregates on the properties of concrete for non-structural use. Constr.
Build. Mater. 27 (1), 612e622.
MCHW, 2016. Volume 1 - specification for highway works: Series 600 earthworks.
Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works.
Nunes, K.R.A., Mahler, C.F., Valle, R., Neves, C., 2007. Evaluation of investments in
recycling centres for construction and demolition wastes in Brazilian munici-
palities. Waste Manag. 27 (11), 1531e1540.
Pacheco, J., de Brito, J., Ferreira, J., Soares, D., 2015a. Destructive horizontal load tests
of full-scale recycled-aggregate concrete structures. ACI Struct. J. 112 (6), 815.
Pacheco, J., de Brito, J., Ferreira, J., Soares, D., 2015b. Flexural load tests of full-scale
recycled aggregates concrete structures. Constr. Build. Mater. 101, 65e71.
PG-3, 2014. General Technical Prescriptions for Roads and Bridges Works (In
Spanish). Centro de Publicaciones, Secretaría General Te
cnica, Ministerio de
Fomento, Spain.
Poon, C.S., Chan, D., 2007. The use of recycled aggregate in concrete in Hong Kong.
Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 50 (3), 293e305.
Radig, G., 2011. Darmstadt, Waldspirale, hundertwasser-house. Freely available at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File. Waldspirale_Darmstadt_-_Hundert-
wasser-Haus.JPG under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license,
last accessed in 20/06/2018.
RC-Beton, 2018a. Office building in mannheimeneuostheim, Germany. Freely
available at: http://www.rc-beton.de/index-pilotprojekte.html. last accessed in
20/06/2018.
RC-Beton, 2018b. Science and Technology Centre in Heilbronn, Germany. Freely
available at: http://www.rc-beton.de/index-pilotprojekte.html. last accessed in
accessed 20/06/2018.
RC-Beton, 2018c. Semi-detached houses, ludwigshafen-edigheim, Germany. Freely
available at: http://www.rc-beton.de/index-pilotprojekte.html. last accessed in
accessed 20/06/2018.
RC-Beton, 2018d. Weighing house of Schief Entsorgungs GmbH & Co.KG. Freely
available at: http://www.rc-beton.de/index-pilotprojekte.html. last accessed in
accessed 20/06/2018.
Rijnsburger, H.A., 1997. Test project “crushed masonry 50/150 mm in the
16 R.V. Silva et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (2019) 117629
Ventjagersplaat river dam”. In: Goumans, J.J.J.M., Senden, G.J., van der
Sloot, H.A. (Eds.), Waste Materials in Construction: Putting Theory into Practice.
Elsevier, pp. 91e94.
Rodrigues, F., Carvalho, M., Evangelista, L., de Brito, J., 2013. Physical-chemical and
mineralogical characterization of fine aggregates from construction and de-
molition waste recycling plants. J. Clean. Prod. 52, 438e445.
Sadati, S., Khayat, K.H., 2016. Field performance of concrete pavement incorporating
recycled concrete aggregate. Constr. Build. Mater. 126, 691e700.
Silva, R.V., de Brito, J., Dhir, R.K., 2014. Properties and composition of recycled ag-
gregates from construction and demolition waste suitable for concrete pro-
duction. Constr. Build. Mater. 65, 201e217.
Sommer, H., 2012. Tasteful solution: land of salt mines goes green in megaproject.
Roads Bridg. September 46e48.
Stein, V., 1987. Recycling of demolition waste and its influence on the market of
natural mineral building materials. Conserv. Recycl. 10 (2), 53e57.
Uceda, A., 2017. Study of Concrete with Low Cement Content and Recycled Aggre-
gates (In Spanish). Departamento de Ingeniería Rural, Area
de la Ingeniería de la
Construccio
n Universidad de Co
rdoba, Spain, p. 149.
WikimediaCommons, 2018. Jahrtausendturm in Magdeburg. Freely available at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
JahrtausendturmMagdeburgjpgundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution-
ShareAlike4.0Internationallicense. last accessed in 20/06/2018.
WRAP, 2003a. Cold in Situ Recycling of Bound and Unbound Layers of the A9 Trunk
Road. Waste & Resources Action Programme, Oxon, UK, p. 3.
WRAP, 2003b. Recycled and Secondary Aggregate Use in the Construction of Oke-
hampton Recycling Centre and Access Road. Waste & Resources Action Pro-
gramme, Oxon, UK, p. 15.
WRAP, 2003c. Use of Recycled and Secondary Aggregates in the Construction of the
Newport Southern Distributor Road. Waste & Resources Action Programme,
Oxon, UK, p. 4.
WRAP, 2004. Recycled and Secondary Aggregates e Supply Chain Case Study: A316
Resurfacing Pilot Project. Waste & Resources Action Programme, Oxon, UK, p. 4.
WRAP, 2005a. Recycled and Secondary Aggregates e Supply Chain Case Study:
Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Waste & Resources Action Programme, Oxon, UK, p. 4.
WRAP, 2005b. Use of Recycled Asphalt and Recycled Aggregate in the A34 Chie-
veley/M4 Junction 13 Improvement. Waste & Resources Action Programme,
Oxon, UK, p. 8.
Xiao, J., Sun, C., Jiang, X., 2015. Flexural behaviour of recycled aggregate concrete
graded slabs. Struct. Concr. 16 (2), 249e261.
Xiao, J., Sun, C., Lange, D.A., 2016. Effect of joint interface conditions on shear
transfer behavior of recycled aggregate concrete. Constr. Build. Mater. 105,
343e355.