LCA of Recycled and Normal Aggregate Concrete – Circular Versus Linear Economy

The building sector causes a noticeable portion of worldwide exploitation of natural resources and waste generation. It is therefore the aim to enhance circularity. In this context, the use of 100% of recycled aggregate including recycled sand for production of structural concrete (100RAC) was investigated. First applications of 100RAC were already finished. Based on the findings from research and building projects a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed where 100RAC (circular system) was compared to natural aggregate concrete (NAC, linear system). The analysis shows that the circular system yields higher GWP when high amounts of binder are used. An amount of binder in 100RAC slightly higher (11 kg/m3) than in NAC still yields equal GWP.