Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Assessment of Recycled Construction and Demolition Waste for Road Embankments

The reuse of industrial waste has already become a top European priority. Among the most significant contributors to the overall industrial waste volume is the construction industry, which is responsible for 50% of the worldwide consumption of natural resources. Construction and demolition (C&D) materials have been identified by the European Commission as a priority stream because of the large amounts that are generated and the high potential for re-use and recycling embodied in these materials. In order to instigate the reapplication of this waste-based coarse material back in the construction industry, and in structural applications in particular, like road or railway embankments, it is fundamental to properly characterize its mechanical behaviour. However, nowadays the environmental performance is at least as important, which prompts the issue of the quantity and quality of the leachate produced by such applications. The present paper deals with both these concerns, by reporting and analysing consolidated-drained triaxial tests on a fully characterized batch of recycled mixed Construction and Demolition Waste, provided by a Portuguese recycling plant, as well as its geoenvironmental assessment through leaching tests. In order to assist the decision making process regarding the potential use of geosynthetic reinforcement, the triaxial tests were extended to specimens with one geogrid reinforcing layer.