Sustainable application of construction and demolition recycled materials (C&DRM) in road infrastructure

The use of Construction and Demolition Recycled Materials (C&DRM) in road pavements is envisaged as a solution with environmental and economic benefits. Their application as unbound granular materials in pavement layers (base, sub-base and capping layers) also has the advantage to allow the incorporation of large quantities of those materials, from different origins. The generalised application of C&DRM in road construction is however still limited by some knowledge gaps, deriving from the lack of information concerning the mechanical and environmental performance of these materials and from the limited experience with their practical application in road construction. A research project, SUPREMA, aiming to contribute to the sustainable implementation of C&DRM in road pavements, by improving the knowledge concerning the mechanical and environmental behaviour of these materials when placed as aggregates in unbound pavement layers, is being developed by the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), in cooperation with Technical University of Lisbon (IST), over three years. This paper discusses the detailed objectives and methodology of the research project and presents some of its early results, in particular the ones concerning the C&DRM potential pollution.