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Recycled agricultural waste has potential for use in many applications not related to high­ways. Uses of agricultural wastes (with a few notable exceptions) in highways are usu­ally restricted to landscaping applications. It is estimated that more than 2 billion tons (1.8 X 1012 kg) of agricultural waste is produced each year in the United States. […]

Coal Refuse. Coarse coal refuse from mining operations is produced at a rate of 120 million tons (109 X 109 kg) per year. Coarse material is banked, while fine coal refuse is put into a silt-sized slurry mix and placed in impoundments. It is estimated that up to 4 billion tons (3.6 X 1012 kg) […]

Approximately 150 million tons (136 X 109 kg) of industrial waste of the type that can be potentially reused to some degree in highway projects is produced annually in the United States. Little of this waste can be landfilled. Many kinds of industrial wastes are not suitable for highway use because they are hazardous or […]

Much construction demolition debris consists of wastes with little recycling value for high­ways, such as wood and plaster. However, demolition debris also includes concrete, glass, metal, brick, and asphalt, most of which can be reused in highways as aggregate. In order to be a viable resource and meet the standard specifications as aggregate when crushed, […]

Waste material can be categorized as construction wastes, industrial wastes, mining or mineral wastes, agricultural wastes, or domestic wastes (of which scrap tires are a signifi­cant subset). Many advanced recycling programs have been established to make use of these wastes, such as requiring identifying codes for the base resin in plastic products to enable more […]

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA classified solid waste management facilities and practices, required states to develop comprehensive state plans for solid waste management (Dufour, op. cit., p. 99). RCRA also emphasized the growing landfill capacity problem and the need to develop approaches to handling wastes. In the preamble of RCRA, attention was […]

Given the vast amount of building materials required to construct and maintain the trans­portation infrastructure in the United States, the country’s highway system represents a tremendous opportunity for the beneficial use of reclaimed and recycled resources. However, the reclamation and reuse of waste material must be done in an environmentally responsible manner. The handling, disposal, […]

The following steps have been developed for managing lead-based paint removal projects based on procedures in Trimbler’s Industrial Lead Paint Removal Handbook. Initial Project Evaluation. In the initial project evaluation, the owner or specifier must determine whether the coating contains lead-based paint either by reviewing earlier plans and specifications for the structure or by sampling […]

Specifications for scraping or blasting lead-based paint from structures should be written with worker safety and environmental issues in mind, so that qualified contractors who can adhere to a high level of quality and compliance are selected for the project. These specifi­cations should • Describe the extent of surface preparation and the degree of containment […]

Bridges are public structures. Lead poisoning caused by lead-based paint has come to the forefront of public awareness. Any inconvenience to the public due to bridge mainte­nance calls attention to the structure and ongoing operations. If not handled well, lead — based paint removal from bridges can become a volatile community issue. Some states have […]