Viabilidade do Uso de um Agregado Reciclado de Resíduos de Construção e Demolição (RCD) no Preenchimento de Valas.

Abstract

Minimizing the consumption of non-renewable natural resources for the production of construction materials is considered one of the key aspects to achieve sustainability in the construction sector. The recovery of Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) as aggregate is an efficient way to achieve this purpose. Adopting and implementing this principle is particularly relevant for a type of industry that consumes more raw materials than any other economic activity and produces about 11.4 million tonnes of C&DW in Portugal. The use of recycled C&DW aggregates in geotechnical works presents itself as an interesting alternative from an economic and environmental point of view. Recently, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) promoted, in collaboration with the Portuguese National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), the release of new technical specifications for the use of materials resulting from C&DW. The use of C&DW as trenches backfilling is conducted by the Portuguese specification LNEC E 485. In this study, a laboratory programme was carried out to evaluate a series of physical, mechanical and chemical properties of a coarse recycled aggregate. The suitability of these materials as alternative aggregates for backfill of trenches was then assessed, taking into account the requirements set out in LNEC E 485.