Monday, 18 July 2022
Austroads has published a new edition of Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4E: Recycled Materials. The Guide presents the latest information on the use of waste material in roads and provides a high-level approach to determine the suitability of recycled materials for construction and maintenance of road pavements and surfacings.
“National and local transport agencies, together with the road construction industry, have a long history of incorporating recycled materials into road infrastructure. The new Guide covers the advancement in material re-use that has occurred in the 13 years since the previous version was published,” said Ross Guppy, Austroads Transport Infrastructure Program Manager.
A new holistic framework provided in the Guide is based on a key principle that the use of recycled materials in road construction should not worsen overall environmental, health and safety, engineering performance or road user outcomes relative to the performance of conventional materials.
“Roads should not be viewed as alternative avenues for waste disposal. As materials evolve and are increasingly considered for use in roads, industry bodies need the ability and knowledge to determine whether a material is suitable for reuse as a pavement ingredient and confirm that value will be added, and existing performance is maintained or enhanced.”
“It is critical that care is taken to ensure that a due diligence approach is followed when trialling new materials. This framework improves confidence in the uptake of recyclables through mitigation of risk and uncertainty to deliver higher quality assets,” Ross said.
The Guide explores the current use of reclaimed asphalt pavements, industrial slag, recycled crushed glass, construction and demolition waste, concrete and masonry, fly ash, plastics and crumb rubber in pavement construction. It focuses on performance impacts, national and international standards and specifications, potential environmental and health and safety risks, and economic and societal impacts.
The Guide was developed concurrently with the report Technical Basis of Austroads Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4E: Recycled Materials and should be read in conjunction with this document.
Join us for a webinar on Thursday 18 August 2022 to hear about the key updates made to the Guide.
No charge but registration is essential.
Can’t make the live session? Register and we’ll send you a link to the recording.