Current Sustainable Trends of Using Waste Materials in Concrete—A Decade Review

Malindu Sandanayake, Yanni Bouras, Robert Haigh and Zora Vrcelj
Additional contact information
Malindu Sandanayake: ISILC, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC3011, Australia
Yanni Bouras: ISILC, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC3011, Australia
Robert Haigh: ISILC, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC3011, Australia
Zora Vrcelj: ISILC, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC3011, Australia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-38

Abstract: Concrete is the most used construction material in the world. Consequently, the mass extraction of virgin materials required for concrete production causes major environmental impacts. With a focus on promoting sustainability, numerous research studies on incorporating waste materials to replace virgin substances in concrete were undertaken. Despite this vast volume of published literature, systematic research studies on these sustainable concrete mixes that inform various stakeholders on current research trends, future research directions, and marketability options products are seldom conducted. This paper presents a decade review on sustainable concrete with a focus on virgin materials being replaced with waste materials. It aims to inform researchers of current research trends and gaps in the research area of waste material use in concrete. The review also identifies key parameters that restrict the marketability of these sustainable concrete products. The three-step research methodology involves a bibliometric assessment, a key review of selected waste materials, and an interview with a panel of experts focusing on impediments towards the transition of sustainable concrete products into the industry market. Bibliometric assessment was based on 1465 research publications in which five key materials (plastic, glass, fly ash, slag) and construction and demolition waste were selected for the review. The interview was conducted with ten industry experts to discuss the industry limitations in the commercial establishment of materials. The review of existing knowledge and the findings on sustainable concrete presented in this paper provide directions for both research academics and industry stakeholders to systematically focus on sustainable concrete products that are market-ready.

Keywords: concrete; construction; sustainable; materials waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9622/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9622/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9622-:d:447157

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().