Framework for Recycling of Wastes in Construction

Waste and recycled materials (WRM) that are used in structural systems are required to satisfy material strength, durability, and leachability requirements. These materials exhibit a wide variety of characteristics, owing to the diversity of industrial processes that produce them. Several laboratory-based investigations have been conducted to assess the pollution potential and load-bearing capacity of materials such as petroleum-contaminated soils, coal combustion ash, flue-gas desulphurization gypsum, and foundry sand. For full-scale systems that incorporate WRM, although environmental pollution potential and structural integrity are interrelated, comprehensive schemes have not been widely used for integrated assessment of the relevant field-scale performance factors. In this paper, a framework for such an assessment is proposed and presented in the form of a flowchart. The proposed framework enables economic, environmental, worker safety, and engineering factors to be addressed in a number of sequential steps. Quantitative methods and test protocols that have been developed can be incorporated into the proposed scheme for assessing the feasibility of using WRM as partial or full substitutes for traditional materials in construction.