Aggregate recycling in construction: Analysis of the gaps between the Chilean and Spanish realities

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis between Chilean and Spanish reality in regard to the recycling of aggregates and their reuse in road works and urban roads. The current situation of both countries was reviewed through different sources of information such as technical and legal regulation, projects and executed works, to then validate them in Chile by way of interviews to various professionals in the field of urban and interurban road construction, as well as others belonging to government bodies. Spain has extensive experience on this issue, as it has a culture of recycling and reusing aggregates that has produced excellent results, a situation which was taken into account to compare it to Chile's reality. The conclusion is that currently, in Chile, although the existence of recycled aggregate use is known, this is not the case on a technical level for professionals in the sector. It lacks a specific government body that is in charge of this issue and does not have appropriate infrastructure for its treatment. The materials with a promising future within the construction sector are the production of crushed granular bases and the creation of low-resistance concretes, which cannot be used, as laws that regulate them are still being drafted.