C&D News

Cecil Jones, the state materials engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, has been named chair of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) task force on recycled materials.

AASHTO is an organization that most state departments of transportation belong to, and its standards are used by DOTs and many municipalities across the country.

Jones, who is currently developing the task force’s mission statement, says, "We are trying to promote the use of recycled materials in the highway environment and develop standards that can be used as a model for others interested in utilizing recycled materials."

He acknowledges that there are challenges, as there is always some resistance to change. "My passion lies in coming up with success stories. Then from successes other successes can be built," he says. "Look at hot mix asphalt utilizing RAP (recycled asphalt pavement). I remember 15 or 20 years ago that no one wanted to do that. Now it is a standard practice."

Jones will be a panelist on a session titled, "The Latest in Concrete and Asphalt Recycling," at ConExpo-Con/Agg, March 15-19, 2005, in Las Vegas.

The Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) has helped launch www.drywallrecycling.org, an online resource on how to recycle gypsum wallboard from the construction and demolition materials stream.

The U.S. EPA Region Five funded the project, and Dr. Timothy Townsend of the University of Florida compiled the information.

The site includes information on gypsum drywall and how it can be processed for other markets after use as drywall. A list of literature on the subject and state contacts for gypsum recyclers is also available

The CMRA, based near Chicago, has also launched a Web site at www.shinglerecycling.org that focuses on asphalt shingles, and plans to develop a Web site on concrete recycling.