WEST CONSHOHCKEN, Pa. — New international standards created by ASTM International, an organization that specializes in developing strategies that improve product quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market access and trade, and build consumer confidence has created a list of new standards that will help manufacturing plants improve concrete recycling programs.

The standards were released on Jan. 13 and created by ASTM’s committee on concrete (C09). The new standards are designed to help owners and operators lower the environmental impact of construction while making concrete a more a sustainable option for builders. The standards focus on the production of concrete, how its quality is tested and how records are kept for this specific kind of recycling, according to ASTM.

“This standard recognizes unused concrete in a fresh state as a potential ingredient for a new concrete batch,” said Rich Szecsy, president of Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association, in a statement. “Recycled fresh concrete can be treated as a raw-material component just like water, aggregates and cement.”

The new standards emphasize the importance of air entrainment, a method used in concrete production to create tiny air bubbles that absorb rainwater and help make pervious pavement. Using pervious pavement eliminates the need for large and complex sewer systems since it allows excess rainwater to be absorbed by sidewalks and asphalt.

The standards also focus on testing concrete through the use of petrography. By using petrography, manufacturers can determine what concrete is made of based on its thickness, rather than relying on an exposed surface for information, according to ASTM. Petrography can help builders determine if structural problems lie deep within the concrete or if the problem is unrelated.

“The industry can participate in a more sustainable construction practice in which millions of cubic yards of concrete can now be recycled,” Szecsy said in a statement from ASTM.
Before the standards were put in place, manufacturers were only allowed to use reclaimed concrete to build porous sidewalks and old concrete could only be recycled and turned into fine aggregates consisting mainly of natural sand or crushed stone. Concrete pavements were also allowed to be broken in place and used as the foundation for asphalt, according to ASTM.