Review of waste concrete recycling and application

Abstract

Along this review, an introduction to the concrete world recycling will be done. Concrete is almost in every building or road that is around us. As the world changes, new buildings and runways are needed, therefore waste is generated and recycling becomes necessary. Not everybody knows about concrete recycling for these reason people should know about it. Concrete is the second most consumed material after water and is the basis for the urban environment, that is why concrete waste makes up a considerable portion of the world’s waste. This waste consists of huge amounts of materials that are often deposited without any consideration, causing many problems and encouraging the illegal dumping. In order to avoid that, recycling becomes really important since better opportunities are crated. Along this review, a wide vision of recycling concrete will be shown. The main chapters are as follows and talk about the next subjects: [1] A brief introduction would be done into RILEM technical committees on recycling and sustainable development. The recycling of Construction and Demolition waste has emerged as a socioeconomic priority within the European Union and a considerable amount of research and development has taken place in the frame of RILEM. Parallel to the work of RILEM, the recycling of concrete has taken place in USA. American Concrete Institute has also worked on recycling of concrete. A short reflection is also done about the necessity of changing our habits, particularly in the building and construction industry. The utilization of construction waste by recycling can provide opportunities for saving energy, time, resources and money. Collection of recovery data about recycling concrete is of more recent interest with growing concern regarding sustainable development. Every country has its own way of quantify the amount of waste they generate and recycle, and that is not always available in all the regions since the definitions used vary. Concrete recycling has many advantages as well as disadvantages. From a purely economic point of view the recycling of building waste is only attractive when the recycled product is competitive with natural resources in relation to cost and quality. Recycling concrete reduces natural resource exploitation and associated transportation costs, and reduces waste landfill. As the recycling process can be done on site it is also a way to save energy. Taking into account that this is a new technology many people will be needed so there would be good job opportunities.