an official journal of: published by:
an official journal of: published by:
Editor in Chief: RAFFAELLO COSSU
Home

 

GO TO

INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE SELECTION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH-QUALITY RECYCLED AGGREGATES

  • Corrado Gatti - Gruppo Gatti S.p.A., Italy
  • Alan Piemonti - Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Italy
  • Giovanni Plizzari - Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Italy
  • Sabrina Sorlini - Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Italy

DOI 10.31025/2611-4135/2025.19492

Access restricted to subscribed members only

Released under All rights reserved

Copyright: © 2025 CISA Publisher

Abstract

Italian production of construction and demolition waste (CDW) reached about 62 million tons in 2022. Despite the high recovery rate (79.8 percent), most of the treated CDW is stored waiting to be used. In most cases, the recycled aggregates (RAs) resulting from CDW processing turn out to be of low quality and mostly destined for “low-grade” applications (road and railway pavements, civil engineering works, backfills or environmental recoveries). The use of RAs in so-called "high-grade" applications, such as concrete production, is unfortunately limited today by several factors, including the type and origin of RAs, their mechanical properties (often lower than those of natural aggregates) and the potential release of contaminants. In fact, concrete production requires an RA that has similar performance to natural aggregate. This is the main objective of the Life CDW Circle project, co-funded by the European Union and presented in this paper, which aims to achieve total recycling and use of treated CDW, thanks to an innovative sorting technology that allows the separation of different aggregate fractions (aggregates, bricks, tiles, etc.) and the production of RAs with high added value. During the experimental activities, the resulting RAs will be characterized and used for concrete production. After the experimental phase, the project partners will develop appropriate business models, creating an ecosystem with sector stakeholders. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of CDW and RAs production and use in Italy. In addition, the new Life CDW Circle project structure and objectives will be presented.

Keywords

Editorial History

  • Received: 07 Feb 2025
  • Revised: 14 Apr 2025
  • Accepted: 05 May 2025
  • Available online: 14 May 2025

References

Borghi, G., Pantini, S., Rigamonti, L., 2018. Life cycle assessment of non-hazardous Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management in Lombardy Region (Italy). J. Clean. Prod. 184, 815–825.
DOI 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.287

Bressi, G., Facchin, M., 2018. Il riciclo dei Rifiuti Inerti da Costruzione e Demolizione – Criticità e prospettive. Seminario di Formazione – Indicazioni per la gestione sostenibile dei rifiuti da C&D e per l’utilizzo degli aggregati riciclati. Bergamo, Italy

Caggiano, A., Faella, C., Lima, C., Martinelli, E., Pepe, M., Realfonzo, R., Mele, M., Pasqualini, A., Valente, M., 2012. Sul comportamento meccanico di calcestruzzi con aggregati riciclati e ceneri volanti. 19° Congresso CTE, 8–10 novembre 2012. Bologna, Italia

Cirelli Angulo, S., John V.M., Ulsen C., Kahn H., Mueller A., 2013. Optical sorting of ceramic material from mixed construction and demolition waste aggregates. Ambiente Costruido 13(2), 61–73.
DOI 10.1590/S1678-86212013000200006

Coelho, A., de Brito, J., 2011. Economic analysis of conventional versus selective demolition-A case study. Resour. Conserv. Recy. 55(3), 382–392.
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.11.003

Coppola L., 1998. Il mix design del calcestruzzo con aggregati riciclati. In Concreto – Calcestruzzo di qualità, 26. Bimestrale ATECAP. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270587041_L_Coppola_Il_Mix-Design_del_Calcestruzzo_con_Aggregati_Riciclati#fullTextFileContent

Damgaard, A., Lodato, C., Butera, S., Fruergaard, T.A., Kamps, M., Corbin, L., Tonini, D., Astrup, T.F., 2022. Background data collection and life cycle assessment for construction and demolition waste (CDW) management. JRC Joint Research Centre. European Commission.
DOI 10.2760/772724

Diotti, A., Perèz Galvín, A., Piccinali, A., Plizzari, G., Sorlini, S., 2020. Chemical and Leaching Behavior of Construction and Demolition Wastes and Recycled Aggregates. Sustainability-Basel 12, 326.
DOI 10.3390/su122410326

Diotti, A., Plizzari, G., Sorlini, S., 2021. Leaching Behaviour of Construction and Demolition Wastes and Recycled Aggregates: Statistical Analysis Applied to the Release of Contaminants. Appl. Sci. 11(14), 6265.
DOI 10.3390/app11146265

Directive 2008/98/EC, Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008L0098&from=IT

Directive 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L0851&from=IT

Dodampegama S., Hou L., Asadi E., Zhang G., Setunge S, 2023. Revolutionizing construction and demolition waste sorting: Insights from artificial intelligence and robotic applications. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 202, 107375.
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107375

Eckert, M., Oliveira, M., 2017. Mitigation of the negative effects of recycled aggregate water absorption in concrete technology. Constr. Build. Mater. 133, 416–424.
DOI 10.1016/J.CONBUILDMAT.2016.12.132

EUROSTAT – The statistical office of the European Union, Generation of Waste by Economic Activity. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ten00106/default/table?lang=en

Geng, Y., Wang, Q., Wang, Y., Zhang, H., 2019. Influence of service time of recycled coarse aggregate on the mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete. Mater. Struct. 52(5).
DOI 10.1617/S11527-019-1395-0

Guo, Z., Chen, C., Lehman, D.E., Xiao, W., Zheng, S., Fan, B., 2017. Mechanical and durability behaviours of concrete made with recycled coarse and fine aggregates. Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng. 24(2), 171–189.
DOI 10.1080/19648189.2017.1371083

ISPRA – Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Rapporto Rifiuti Speciali Edizione 2024. https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2024/pubblicazioni/rapporti/rapportorifiutispeciali_ed-2024_n-402_versioneintegrale.pdf

Legislative Decree April 3, 2006, n. 152, Norme in materia ambientale. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/dettaglio/codici/materiaAmbientale

Legislative Decree September 3, n. 116, Attuazione della Direttiva (UE) 2018/851 che modifica la Direttiva 2008/98/CE relativa ai rifiuti e attuazione della Direttiva (UE) 2018/852 che modifica la Direttiva 1994/62/CE sugli imballaggi e i rifiuti da imballaggio. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2020/09/11/20G00135/sg

Ministerial Decree January 17, 2018, Aggiornamento delle “Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni”. Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Rome, Italy. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2018/2/20/18A00716/sg

Ministerial Decree June 28, 2024, n. 127, Regolamento recante disciplina della cessazione della qualifica di rifiuto dei rifiuti inerti da costruzione e demolizione, altri rifiuti inerti di origine minerale, ai sensi dell’articolo 184-ter, comma 2, del decreto legislativo 3 aprile 2006, n. 152/2006. Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, Rome, Italy. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2024/09/11/24G00144/SG

Omary, S., Ghorbel, E., Wardeh, G., 2016. Relationship between recycled concrete aggregats characteristics and recycled aggregates concretes properties. Constr. Build. Mater. 108, 163–174.
DOI 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.01.042

Pacheco, J., De Brito, J., 2021. Recycled Aggregates Produced from Construction and Demolition Waste for Structural Concrete: Constituents, Properties and Production. Materials 14(19), 5748.
DOI 10.3390/MA14195748

Piccinali, A., Diotti, A., Plizzari, G., Sorlini, S., 2022. Impact of Recycled Aggregate on the Mechanical and Environmental Properties of Concrete: A Review. Materials 15(5), 1818.
DOI 10.3390/MA15051818

Qasrawi, H., Marie, I., 2013. Towards better understanding of concrete containing recycled concrete aggregate. Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 1.
DOI 10.1155/2013/636034

Rashid, K., Rehman, M.U., de Brito, J., Ghafoor, H., 2020. Multi-criteria optimization of recycled aggregate concrete mixes. J. Clean. Prod. 276, 124316.
DOI 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2020.124316

Reis, G.S.d., Quattrone, M., Ambrós, W.M., Grigore Cazacliu, B., Hoffmann Sampaio, C., 2021. Current applications of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition: A review. Materials 14(7), 1700.
DOI 10.3390/ma14071700

Rémond, S., Mechling, J.M., Trauchessec, R., Garcia-Diaz, E., Lavaud, R., Cazacliu, B., 2019. Characterization of recycled concrete aggregates. In F. De Larrard & H. Colina (Eds.), Concrete Recycling, 1st Edition, 33–60. CRC Press.
DOI 10.1201/9781351052825-5

Ronchi, E., Nepi, M.L., 2021. L’Italia del Riciclo. Fondazione per lo sviluppo sostenibile e FISE UNICIRCULAR, Unione Imprese Economia Circolare. https://www.fondazionesvilupposostenibile.org/wp-content/uploads/ITALIA_DEL_RICICLO_2021_web.pdf

Schnellert, T., Mueller, A., 2010. Separation techniques for CDW – Best practice. Development of a separation process for gypsum-contaminated concrete aggregates. Alternative separation technique for CDW – Optoelectronic separation. Bauhaus – University Weimar, Chair of Mineral Processing of Building Materials and Reuse, Germany. http://www.abw-recycling.de/Barcelona/Barcelona-SEPARATION%20TECHNIQUES.pdf

Silva, R.V., de Brito, J., Dhir, R.K., 2017. Availability and processing of recycled aggregates within the construction and demolition supply chain: A review. J. Clean. Prod. 143, 598–614.
DOI 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.070

Thomas, C., Setién, J., Polanco, J.A., Alaejos, P., Sánchez de Juan, M., 2013. Durability of recycled aggregate concrete. Constr. Build. Mater. 40, 1054–1065.
DOI 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.11.106

Thomas, J., Thaickavil, N.N., Wilson, P.M., 2018. Strength and durability of concrete containing recycled concrete aggregates. J. Build. Eng. 19, 349–365.
DOI 10.1016/j.jobe.2018.05.007

UNI 11104:2016, Calcestruzzo: Specificazione, prestazione, produzione e conformità – Specificazioni complementari per l’applicazione della EN 206. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI 8520-2:2022, Aggregati per calcestruzzo - Istruzioni complementari per l’applicazione della EN 12620 - Parte 2: Requisiti. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI EN 13139:2003, Aggregati per malta. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI EN 12620:2008, Aggregati per calcestruzzo. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI EN 16637-2:2023, Prodotti da costruzione - Valutazione del rilascio di sostanze pericolose - Parte 2: Prova di lisciviazione dinamica superficiale. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI EN 16637-3:2024, Prodotti da costruzione - Valutazione del rilascio di sostanze pericolose - Parte 3: Prova di percolazione a flusso ascendente orizzontale. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

UNI EN 206:2021, Calcestruzzo - Specificazione, prestazione, produzione e conformità. UNI, Ente Italiano di Normazione

Verian, K.P., Ashraf, W., Cao, Y., 2018. Properties of recycled concrete aggregate and their influence in new concrete production. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 133, 30–49.
DOI 10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2018.02.005

Yildirim, S.T., Meyer, C., Herfellner, S., 2015. Effects of internal curing on the strength, drying shrinkage and freeze–thaw resistance of concrete containing recycled concrete aggregates. Constr. Build. Mater. 91, 288–296.
DOI 10.1016/J.CONBUILDMAT.2015.05.045

Zhao, W., Leeftink, R.B., Rotter, V.S., 2010. Evaluation of the economic feasibility for the recycling of construction and demolition waste in China-The case of Chongqing. Resour. Conserv. Recy. 54(6), 377–389.
DOI 10.1016/j.resconrec.2009.09.003

Related Contents