Information System for Facilitating the Use of Nonhazardous Recycled Materials in Construction (0-4249-2)

The need to conserve finite natural resources and extend the life of existing waste disposal facilities has prompted a national mandate, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Pub. L. 94-580, to utilize nonhazardous recyclable materials in manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and maintenance operations. However, gaining acceptance for the use of nonhazardous recyclable materials (NRMs) continues to be difficult. The reasons for this vary widely. Some of the delay is resistance related to concerns about the quality of finished products made with recycled materials compared to those made with natural raw materials. On the other hand, the lack of reuse can be related to a simple lack of information about the waste stream and the infrastructure for generating and incorporating quality recycled materials into finished construction products. The focus of this effort was on the latter issue of information collection and dissemination. This project identified nonhazardous recyclable materials that could replace a significant volume of virgin material used in highway construction and developed a web-based application for the collection and dissemination of information about these materials. The database application satisfies two primary objectives. First, it provides the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other potential users, processors, or distributors of NRMs information about the source of quality NRMs. Second, it provides generators, processors, and marketers of NRM products with information about the potential market represented by TxDOT's construction projects. The system as designed may also have some application in gathering information required for compliance reporting to regulatory agencies.