The testing and grading of excavated waste, for re-use in the local construction industry

Abstract

Following Malta's accession into the European Union, waste protocol became a main factor not only in legislative terms but also in terms of what to do with it. In the construction industry in particular, it became imperative to not only reduce the amounts of waste being produced and dumped, but also to reduce the waste that is currently not being used other than to fill up quarries that have fallen into disuse. Research in the field of the reuse of local excavated waste material, mainly franka has shown that it is possible to reuse the said material in the production of reconstituted stone blocks, with adequate strength values developed within reasonable and economic parameters. The purpose of this dissertation is a further investigation into the reuse of franka. The original notion behind the research was that rock, especially soft stone such as franka, varies in its characteristics even within small distances of each other and also at varying heights. This requires a process by which one can ascertain the quality of the material being used in the production of reconstituted stone blocks, both for the producer and the consumer. The ultimate goal of this research was to develop a testing procedure by which one could ascertain such quality and a basis for the grading of the said waste material.