Experimental Analysis of Mixing Construction & Demolition Waste with Soil for Embankments

In some countries, like Brazil, there are cases of inadequate destination and even final disposition of construction and demolition waste (CDW), which contributes to environmental degradation and materials waste. The construction sector is a great consumer of natural resources, and CDW can be useful sometimes to minimise the need for natural materials, including in embankment filling, which could use a large volume of material. In these cases, the use of CDW can become promising if the embankment quality is not affected, once usually has a great economic advantage. This paper aims to assess the experimental feasibility and potential benefits of employing CDW mixed with soil in embankments. For this study, samples of CDW were collected from three recycling facilities in Brazil and mixed with lateritic soil. Compaction tests determined optimum parameters of the lateritic soil, and the soil mixed with 25% and 50% of CDW. The maximum dry densities of the mixtures slightly changed compared to natural soil. Mixtures’ optimum water content increased only 2% in relation to the soil without waste, which means that the compaction of the mixtures will demand 10% to 20% more water, depending on CDW quality. The results show that these materials and proportions can be considered for possible application in embankments.