DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE WASTE RECYCLING SYSTEM

Construction solid waste has caused serious environmental problems. Reuse, recycling and reduction of construction materials have been advocated for many years, and various methods have been investigated. There may be  six  type  of building materials:  plastic,  paper,  timber, metal,  glass  and concrete which can be reused and recycled.

This paper examines the rate of reusable & recyclable concrete waste. On  the  other  hand,  the reuse of construction waste is highly essential from the viewpoint of  Life  Cycle Assessment  (LCA)  and  effective  recycling  of  construction resources. In order to promote the reuse of construction waste, it is necessary to achieve three basic concepts: (1) assurance of safety and quality, (2) decrease of environmental impact, and (3) increase of cost effectiveness of construction. This paper outlines the development of a recycling system, application of recycled aggregate concrete produced by the aggregate replacing method, which is effective in reducing both cost and environmental impact from the viewpoint of LCA for concrete waste  generated  by  the  demolition  of  large-scale  buildings such  as  powerhouses. Moreover,  with  the adoption of the developed recycling system, it was confirmed possible to recycle concrete waste produced from the demolition buildings in a highly effective manner reducing both recycling cost and Environmental impact.