Chapter 21: Recycled concrete aggregate: application and control issues

Use of crushed concrete and masonry in the UK has been mainly for lower grade applications and its resource potential has been undervalued due to a lack of suitable specifications and control procedures. In recent years there have been moves to demonstrate the wider potential of crushed concrete, for example in ready-mixed concrete for the new Environmental Building at BRE. This paper describes progress in the development of specifications and the practical application of quality control, beginning with full-scale demonstration projects at BRE and leading on to collaborative work with UK industry supported by the UK Department of the Environment, Transport & Regions (DETR) “Partners in Technology” programme:

1. Use of recycled aggregate (from demolition waste) in precast concrete blocks

2. Use of reclaimed product (ie crushed concrete) for structural precast concrete

3. A pilot scheme for the quality control of recycled aggregates

Future applications of the material are also discussed in terms of cost and availability, including an introduction to an internet-based materials information exchange developed by BRE for DETR.