Page 10 - July-Aug 2019 Vol37 No2

NASHVILLE By Rocky Robinson
Building Boom Prompts Research
Into Recycled Construction Waste

It’s no secret that Nashville, “Music Materials’ Danley plant in Antioch, TN. amount of material sent to construction
City” brings people flocking from across Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and demolition landfills.
the country.
can help meet sustainability practices The main priority of this research
They come to play…it’s home to many in construction as a replacement for analysis is to encourage sustainable
large events including the Country Music virgin aggregates in new concrete. construction work. Recycled aggregate
Awards festival, the Stanley Cup Final, However, the durability of RCA in new is produced by crushing concrete,
National Hockey League All-Star Game, construction must be ensured. The value and sometimes asphalt, to reclaim the
the Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon, of RCA can reduce the need to mine aggregate. Recycled aggregate can be used
and of course the 2019 National Football virgin aggregates, decrease aggregate for many purposes. The primary market is
League Draft. transportation distances and reduce the road base.

They come to live…word on the Music
City streets is that approximately 100
people move there every day, with home
sales and apartment rentals a prime
business in recent years.

And they come to work. Factor in
the growth of big businesses such as
Amazon and Nissan North America,
the construction of marquee hotels such
as the Four Seasons, and the ongoing
construction and crane use citywide (with
construction cranes becoming a part of
Nashville’s skyline.)
How to Maintain Sustainability in this
Environment?

Nashville has changed tremendously
in twenty years, and with this activity,
the question must be asked: how can
the construction industry maintain
sustainability in this environment?

To help answer this question, Metro
Nashville Public Works (MNPW), Middle
Tennessee State University (MTSU) and
Vulcan Materials formed a partnership
to perform research analysis and product
demonstration to help peer into the
possibilities of using recycled construction
and demolition waste as a core building
material.
Partnership Studies Recycled
Construction and Demolition Waste

This analysis and demonstration was
led by Dr. Heather Brown, Department
Chair for MTSU’s School of Concrete
and Construction Management; Jay
Gabrielson, P.E., Director of Technical
Services for Vulcan Materials, and Phillip
Jones, MNPW Assistant Director and
2019 TCAPWA President. The study and
demo recently were all held at Vulcan

10 TPW July/August 2019