Factors affecting the price of recycled concrete: A critical review

A significant increase in construction activities has led to the production of massive construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Recycling is regarded as an ideal approach to deal with C&D waste. However, the adoption of market for recycled concrete from C&D waste is slow because quality and price are two major factors hindering its wide acceptability. It is observed that the price of recycled concrete is 0-10% higher than that of virgin concrete. Although there is willingness to purchase green products, clients and consultants emphasize the criticality of material costs before any consideration of environmental impacts. In the promotion of recycled concrete, it is of great importance to investigate factors affecting the price of recycled concrete to control its price to an acceptable level. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to generate a list of potential factors affecting recycled concrete pricing. Publications between 2000 and 2021 (inclusive) are investigated and 35 papers are identified. Fifteen factors are found to be influential: (1) selling cost of recycled aggregate; (2) proportion of recycled aggregate substitutions; (3) waterto-cement ratio; (4) amount of cement usage; (5) use of supplementary cementitious materials; (6) use of admixtures; (7) production and installation costs; (8) transportation costs of recycled aggregate; (9) transportation costs of concrete; (10) quality control measures; (11) indirect costs; (12) mandatory regulations; (13) voluntary guidelines; (14) population growth and (15) economic growth. Investigating factors affecting the price of recycled concrete could help to understand the stimulus and retards the use of recycled concrete for improving its financial viability.

Automated summary

The significant increase in construction activities has resulted in a large amount of construction and demolition waste, with recycling being considered the ideal solution. However, the slow adoption of recycled concrete is mainly due to quality and price concerns. Investigating the factors affecting the price of recycled concrete is crucial for controlling the price and improving its financial viability.