Sustainable Application of Recycled Glass Blended with Crushed Rock

摘要

Current levels of natural aggregate production are under threat due to fast diminishing resources forrnvirgin aggregates. Under this circumstance, waste materials may be recycled to be used as anrnalternative material in pavement as base/subbase material. Hence, there is now a developingrnemphasis on environmental management which has resulted in growing pressure to investigate thernviability of reusing of all categories of waste materials. Recycled glass is a waste material produced inrnlarge quantities in municipal and industrial areas in Australia and worldwide. Currently in the state ofrnVictoria, Australia, 186,000 tonnes of recycled glass is stockpiled annually and this figure is growingrnevery year. To date, there is little known reuse of recycled glass in pavement subbase applicationsrndue to limited knowledge concerning its geotechnical properties. The reuse of recycled glass in roadrnpavement applications will provide the opportunity not only to eliminate the waste glass stockpiles andrnminimize the use of virgin materials in pavement applications but also to minimize the valuable landrnbeing used for landfilling. This paper discusses the properties of recycled glass when used in blendsrnof up to 50% with crushed rock in pavement subbase applications. Laboratory geotechnical testsrndiscussed in this paper include modified compaction, Los Angeles abrasion loss, triaxial compressionrntests and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests. The findings of this research indicate that initially up torn30% recycled glass with the maximum particle size of 4.75 mm could be safely added to crushed rockrnwhen used in pavement subbase applications.