Municipal Solid Waste as a Substitute for Virgin Materials in the Construction Industry: A Review

Liliana Lizárraga-Mendiola, Luis D. López-León and Gabriela A. Vázquez-Rodríguez ()
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Liliana Lizárraga-Mendiola: Academic Area of Engineering and Architecture, Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo, km 4.5 Pachuca-Tulancingo Highway, Pachuca 42184, Mexico
Luis D. López-León: Academic Area of Engineering and Architecture, Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo, km 4.5 Pachuca-Tulancingo Highway, Pachuca 42184, Mexico
Gabriela A. Vázquez-Rodríguez: Academic Area of Chemistry, Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo, km 4.5 Pachuca-Tulancingo Highway, Pachuca 42184, Mexico

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-20

Abstract: Municipal solid waste (MSW) requires adequate management to mitigate the negative impacts caused by its poor disposal in the environment. It is composed of several fractions, such as organic waste, paper, cardboard, metals, plastic, and glass, among other valuable materials. An area of opportunity for its recovery is the construction industry, which currently consumes around 3000 million tons of natural resources annually and is responsible for 34% of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. There are examples of the worldwide reuse of MSW in construction materials: plastics have been incorporated as substitutes for sand in the production of concrete and pavements; paper as a hygrothermal and lighting regulator in buildings; and glass has been reused as fine aggregate in concrete mixtures, among others. In this paper, we revised how these MSW fractions have been used for designing and producing sustainable construction materials, thereby favoring a circular economy approach and reducing their landfilling. Opportunity areas for these materials to be developed and applied were also identified focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Keywords: green economy; construction materials; environmental impacts; aggregate mining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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