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Developing Re-Use Applications and Improving the Economic Benefits of Florida’s Waste Materials. By Paul J. Cosentino, Ph.D., P.E. Howell H. Heck, III, Ph.D., P.E. Background. Florida stockpiles large volumes of waste or recyclable materials Examples: Waste Glass RAP
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Developing Re-Use Applications and Improving the Economic Benefits of Florida’s Waste Materials By Paul J. Cosentino, Ph.D., P.E. Howell H. Heck, III, Ph.D., P.E.
Background • Florida stockpiles large volumes of waste or recyclable materials • Examples: • Waste Glass • RAP • Concrete Rubble and Dust • Waste-to-Energy Ash • Engineering characteristics of these materials may be improved by adding common fill
Background (Cont.) • Proper re-use would produce savings for Florida’s construction and landfill industries • Florida’s construction boom has caused a large demand for quality fill • Engineering properties of RAP improved by adding sand • Blending is common practice and often economical
Objective • Evaluate Florida’s candidate waste materials and improve their engineering behavior by adding conventional fill to make them economically attractive
Approach • Two year project • Nine Tasks to Accomplish Objectives
Flow Chart Identify Re-Usable Waste Streams Identify Engineering Environmental and Economic Conditions Reject Sample Waste Materials Accept Dry Rodded Unit Weight Evaluation Reject g Mix % Accept Fundamental Geotechnical Testing and Analysis of Blends Reject Consistency and Economic Impact Reject Accept Landfill Applications
Explanation of Tasks • 1 – Identify Candidate Waste Materials • 2 – Sampling • 3 – Fundamental Geotechnical Testing • 4 – Analysis of Testing • 5 – Waste-Soil Mixing Program • 6 – Waste-Soil Geotechnical Testing • 7 – Analysis of Mixing Results • 8 – Economic Impact of Re-Usable Materials • 9 – Reporting, TAG Meetings & Specifications
Major Tasks • Year 1 • Select candidate materials from facilities statewide • Perform fundamental geotechnical testing • Choose materials with minimal environmental concerns • RAP, waste glass and concrete rubble and dust • Year 2 • Perform Mixing Analysis • Evaluate Economics • Complete specifications describing proper use
Expected Technical Results • Geotechnical engineering data base • Summary of economic impact for re-using these materials • Specifications
Anticipated Benefits • Two end users groups will benefit: • Contractors who use soils and borrow materials in highway construction • Landfill operators at solid waste or construction and demolition landfills • Suitable fill is becoming costly. Providing more choices, will control costs and save money. • Re-use of waste materials diverts them from the waste stream, and reduces landfilling costs & increases landfill space.
Related Work • A significant database of information exists to expedite the proposed work • Waste products have engineering properties that fall short of those needed for re-use in highways • Waste-to-energy ash • Waste-glass • RAP
Follow-up • FDOT has funded over a decade work in this area without concentrating on economics. • A $261,000 24-month proposal has been funded to continue work on RAP and RAP-soil mixes. • The funding request to the FCSHWM is considered a supplement to the FDOT work.
Technical Awareness Group & Peer Reviewers • David Horhota, Ph.D., P.E. State Geotechnical Materials Engineer, FDOT, david.horhota@dot.state.fl.us • John Shoucair Geotechnical Materials Engineer, FDOT, john.shoucair@dot.state.fl.us • David Westcott, Technical Service Manager Florida Region, CEMEX Corp., david.westcott@cemexusa.com • Chris Brunais, Area Manager, APAC-Florida Melbourne Div. clbrunais@ashland.com • Suzanne Boroff FDEP suzanne.boroff@dep.state.fl.us • Jim Langenbach, P.E. Senior Engineer, GeoSyntec Consultants, jlangenbach@geosyntec.com
Summary • Waste Materials can be re-used in Highways • Economic Benefits to Construction Industry • Economic Benefits to the Solid Waste Industry • Environmental Benefits to the Public