NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RECYCLING OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTES FOR THE CONCRETE INDUSTRY

The management of construction and demolition wastes is now part of the circular economy. Increasing percentages of products that were previously considered as waste are recycled for manufacturing new mortars and concretes: the quality of crushing, sorting and preparation in approved recycling centres means that the quality of the products and the consistency of the properties of the recycled materials are constantly being improved.
The University of Liège (Belgium) is involved in numerous projects aimed at improving recycling conditions and increasing the rates incorporated into new concretes: rammed concretes, concretes based on brick fines and recycled sands for 3D printing are presented as examples. Measures to promote the use of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) are fully in line with strategic goals of the European Union (EU) and the scientific community has consistently argued that RAC is a technically suitable structural material