DIRECT_MAT

DISmantling and RECycling Techniques for road MATerials - Sharing knowledge and practices

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The DIREC_MAT project objective is to share, at a European scale, knowledge and practices on recycling road and road-related waste in the aim of ensuring an environmentally-friendly and sustainable end-of-life for road infrastructure. Road material recycling processes have previously been studied in national and European research projects and have led to various levels of practical implementation; unfortunately, the national experiences developed across Europe almost never benefit other European countries. This is especially true for the newer Member States. Furthermore existing knowledge and practices are presently scattered. Reliable practice-oriented data on all types of road materials and waste will be identified and compiled by skilled experts working in both research and construction capacities. Field experience and relevant research issues will be integrated into a Web database to provide the European road community with unrestricted access to updated online data on end products that have been classified, assessed and illustrated with jobsite practices for dismantling and recycling applications. This database will not only offer information to stakeholders on facilitating the correct re-use of road and road-related waste products back into roads without generating health impacts, but will also provide technical and scientific information for CEN Technical Committees. Lastly, such a tool will make it possible to better identify outstanding research needs in this area. Best practice guides on green techniques for recycling road and road-related waste back into roads will be delivered; benchmarking processes will be detailed and shared by all stakeholders in order to achieve a road material recyclability level of nearly 100%. FEHRL (Forum of European Highway Research Laboratories) will contribute by performing decisive clustering tasks and engaging in a comprehensive dissemination plan to promote the required knowledge sharing for end-users'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The latest research from European nations on recycling of material such as asphalt from old roads will contribute to the sustainability of road infrastructure and promote a cleaner environment.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

With over 5 million kilometres of road networks, the EU is exploring ways to recycle old road infrastructure and materials once they are decommissioned. Often, tonnes of rejected materials are discarded in a way that compromises the environment and litters the landscape, calling for a reliable, environmentally sound end-of-life strategy for disused infrastructure. This was the objective of the recent EU-funded project 'Dismantling and recycling techniques for road materials - Sharing knowledge and practices' (Direct_MAT).

Primarily, the project aimed to disseminate knowledge and recommendations on dismantling and recycling of road and road-related materials. It gathered 20 project partners from 15 European nations to document the latest data, technologies and practices in the field. From this information the project team built a highly authoritative and informative website that outlines practices about discarded materials such as concrete, steel and tar, in addition to publishing best practice guides and benchmarking the different recycling methods involved.

In addition to enabling correct reintroduction of road-related waste products back into new roadways, the project became a tool for keeping daily records of sites where road dismantling was ongoing. Monitoring of these jobsites helps the EU in refining their standards and technical information in order to improve recycling even further.

Although half the reclaimed asphalt pavement is recycled in the EU, each country has its own laws and practices, calling for better harmonisation of strategies across the bloc. With free online access to best practice guides and useful case studies, policymakers and stakeholders can upgrade the recycling of road materials significantly. Researchers and scientists will also be able to inform their research and feed their findings back into the project website, positioning the EU as a leader in recycling road materials. This represents yet another victory in ecology and sustainability for Europe.