DOMESTIC REFUSE MAY BE GOOD FOR DRIVING ON

This article gives a brief account of trials using incinerated domestic refuse in road surfacings in the US and as road fill in the UK. A 5-year pilot programme by the Federal Highway Agency (FHA) has resulted in pilot schemes in Houston, Harrisburgh, Philidelphia and Washington. The refuse used has been heated to 1500 degrees C and is used with crushed rock in asphalic concrete. Results are reported to be promising and FHA may encourage more of the 150 US cities with incinerators to adopt the process. In all they are producing 5 million tonnes of residue a year. The Transport and Road Research Laboratory have been studying the utilization of the 1 million tonnes of incinerated refuse being produced each year by the UK's 30 incinerators. Residues from Edmonton, Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham and Sunderland have been tested. The ash was found to vary in properties and it was concluded that the refuse would be unsuitable for use as a sub-base beneath a concrete pavement, but would be acceptable beneath a bituminous roadbase. Apart from needing to be well burnt the residues should be kept low in metals, since iron residues oxidise with a doubling in volume and leave holes when the disintegrated material is washed away. Residues with as little as 5 per cent magnetic material, such as those from Edmonton would be unlikely to cause any problems. /TRRL/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/02624079
• Corporate Authors:

  IPC Magazines

  66-69 Great Queens Street
  London WC2E 5DD,   England 

  IPC Magazine Limited

  King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street
  London SE1 9LS,   England 
• Publication Date: 1977-9-22

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 730
• Serial:
  • NEW SCIENTIST
  • Volume: 75
  • Issue Number: 1070
  • Publisher: REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD
  • ISSN: 0262-4079

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Asphalt concrete; Base course (Pavements); Bituminous mixtures; Building materials; Chemical processes; Combustion; Concrete pavements; Fly ash; Heat; Households; Refuse; Subbase (Pavements); Surfacing; Testing; Waste products (Materials)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Subbase
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom; United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Ashes
• ITRD Terms: 4577: Aggregate; 4967: Bituminous mixture; 4563: By product; 3860: Combustion; 6743: Heat; 309: Household; 2961: Roadbase; 2972: Surfacing; 8119: United Kingdom; 8122: USA
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Society; I35: Miscellaneous Materials; I36: Aggregates;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00170374
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 28 1978 12:00AM