Abstract
Rising concerns about the impacts that the road engineering industry is imposing to the environment have redirected national road authorities to firmly re-consider the sustainability implications of their operations. Lately, though, sustainability has established a forceful correlation with the Circular Economy and its principles. The road engineering industry, therefore, is moving towards more circular approaches. However, this is occurring without the assessment of the potential impacts of such a transition. For this reason, in this study, a composite indicator, namely, Environmental Sustainability and Circularity indicator (ESCi), for investigating the potential effects that increased circularity could have at the environmental sustainability of asphalt mixtures is developed. It can be utilized as a decision-making support tool from stakeholders involved in both asphalt mixture production and road pavement management. In addition, in this study, four asphalt mixtures with different percentages of Reclaimed Asphalt (RA) were assessed in terms of their “cradle-to-gate” environmental impacts and circularity, by means of Life Cycle Assessment, and Material Circularity Index, respectively. Their fatigue and permanent deformation performances play a key role in the assessment and distinctive results obtained for the asphalt mixtures with increasing RA% and thus, significant environmental benefits and increased circularity are observed after specific RA% thresholds.
Highlights
A concept that persistently keeps on being in the centre of attention by numerous governments, institutions, businesses and researchers, is Circular Economy (CE)
Four different asphalt mixtures for wearing courses are analyzed in terms of their environmental impacts (LCAT), Material Circularity Index (MCIMRA) and environmental sustainability and circularity indicator (ESCi)
The asphalt mixtures were designed according to the ANAS (Italian National Road Authority) specification, which is followed for the asphalt mix designs in Italy [45] and were produced in Catania, Italy
Summary
A concept that persistently keeps on being in the centre of attention by numerous governments, institutions, businesses and researchers, is Circular Economy (CE). The increasing demands for raw materials, the dependence on other countries, the increasing population and energy demand, and the impact on the planet, comprise the most crucial factors leading to the belief that shifting towards such an economic approach can have great advantages. They are not just limited to environmental gains, but instead, the adoption of CE seems able to deliver economic benefits as well, according to L. Becomes apparent that the transition to CE is essential and stakeholders along with governmental bodies should aim towards the support and acceleration of this transition
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