DIRECT_MAT · DISmantling and RECycling Techniques for road MATerials - Sharing knowledge and practices

The DIREC_MAT project objective is to share, at a European scale, knowledge and practices on recycling road and road-related waste in the aim of ensuring an environmentally-friendly and sustainable end-of-life for road infrastructure. Road material recycling processes have previously been studied in national and European research projects and have led to various levels of practical implementation; unfortunately, the national experiences developed across Europe almost never benefit other European countries. This is especially true for the newer Member States. Furthermore existing knowledge and practices are presently scattered. Reliable practice-oriented data on all types of road materials and waste will be identified and compiled by skilled experts working in both research and construction capacities. Field experience and relevant research issues will be integrated into a Web database to provide the European road community with unrestricted access to updated online data on end products that have been classified, assessed and illustrated with jobsite practices for dismantling and recycling applications. This database will not only offer information to stakeholders on facilitating the correct re-use of road and road-related waste products back into roads without generating health impacts, but will also provide technical and scientific information for CEN Technical Committees. Lastly, such a tool will make it possible to better identify outstanding research needs in this area. Best practice guides on green techniques for recycling road and road-related waste back into roads will be delivered; benchmarking processes will be detailed and shared by all stakeholders in order to achieve a road material recyclability level of nearly 100%. FEHRL (Forum of European Highway Research Laboratories) will contribute by performing decisive clustering tasks and engaging in a comprehensive dissemination plan to promote the required knowledge sharing for end-users