Over the past 15 years, State DOTs have made significant progress incorporating recycled materials and industrial byproducts in transportation infrastructure. Recycled materials add economic value, enhance service life, and promote sustainability by reducing emission of greenhouse gases, consumption of energy, and consumption of natural resource during construction. Despite these benefits, many recycled materials remain under-utilized due to technical and institutional barriers. The Recycled Materials Resource Center (RMRC) was created to assist State DOTs and FHWA in breaking down these barriers through research and outreach activities focused on the wise and safe use of recycled materials. The initial RMRC was founded in 1998 at the University of New Hampshire through an agreement with FHWA based on a stipulation in TEA-21. In 2007, the RMRC was renewed as RMRC-2 as a joint venture between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). RMRC-2 was awarded competitively and funded by FHWA and by a state pooled fund, TPF5(199), supported by Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and Wisconsin. The contract for RMRC-2 ends on 31 December 2011. TP5(1999) can extend beyond this date, but an administrative decision has been made to terminate TP5(199) on 31 December 2011, i.e., at the same time as the main contract for RMRC-2. FHWA has no immediate plans to create a follow-on version of the RMRC and is supportive of the formation of a follow-on pool fund by the states to continue the mission of RMRC. State DOTs have developed considerable interest in using recycled materials in transportation construction and are seeking technical information regarding appropriate uses and best practices for existing and forthcoming recycled materials. Thus, to maintain momentum regarding the use of recycled materials in transportation infrastructure, with emphasis on enhancing sustainability, service life, and cost savings, a new third-generation RMRC (RMRC-3G) is being proposed by Wisconsin DOT that would begin operation in early 2012.

The goal of the proposed RMRC-3G is to provide the resources and activities needed to break down barriers and increase utilization of recycled materials and industrial byproducts. This will be done through carefully integrated and orchestrated activities that include applied research in key areas relevant to transportation applications combined with outreach programs that provide the educational and technical resources needed to maximize the rate at which recycled materials and industrial byproducts are used in transportation applications. RMRC-3G would be supported by a pooled fund and focus specifically on issues of direct relevance to the contributing state DOTs. The governance structure would include a Board of Directors comprised of representatives of participating State DOTs as well as Stephen R. Mueller, Pavement and Materials Engineer in the Federal Highway Administration’s Resource Center in Lakewood, CO. Mr. Mueller was the technical representative and co-Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for RMRC-2. The Board would have direct input on the activities and priorities of RMRC-3G through a balloting process tied to the level of contribution provided by each state. Through research projects, workshops and outreach efforts, the RMRC-3G expects to achieve its goal via the accomplishment of the following objectives: • Maintain RMRC webpage as an up-to-date resource and be available as a resource to the highway materials and construction community on recycled materials • Define, conduct or manage critical recycled materials research that will support and improve the sustainability of transportation systems construction • Collect and share information between state agencies that will improve the understanding of recycled materials and the appropriate applications • Reach out to and share ideas with private sector producers of recycled materials on approaches to making their availability, quality control, and delivery more smoothly • Define a system of regionally significant recycled materials and establish performance expectations for those materials in various applications that will guide and enhance their use and management • Evaluate and recommend effective technologies and other roadway appurtenances from a recycled materials perspective and in a manner that supports the reliable, efficient, safe and sustainable use of construction materials • Identify issues or bottlenecks that frustrate the wide spread use of recycled materials and then taking actions, individually or as a group, to improve those conditions • Actively contribute to the development of specifications and guidelines through AASHTO and ASTM • Organize webinars and workshops on critical recycled materials

The RMRC-3G will have two main programs: (1) Research and Development (2) Outreach and Technology Transfer The RMRC-3G research program will focus on recycled bound materials (e.g., asphalt and Portland cement concrete) and unbound materials (e.g., base, sub-base, structural fill) and the application of these materials in transportation infrastructure. Factors that affect long-term physical and environmental performance of recycled materials will be evaluated using scientific principles and applied research. Additionally, a database for life cycle assessment (i.e., environmental benefits in terms of green house gas emissions and energy consumption) associated with practices that use recycled materials and industrial byproducts will be created and validated to allow for rational evaluation of material and construction options in the context of life cycle cost and sustainability. Staff of WisDOT will provide management of the overall program while the University of Wisconsin-Madison will provide direction and management on a program level. The RMRC-3G outreach and technology transfer program will develop specifications, standards, manuals, and educational materials on using recycled materials as well as deliver technical information and materials through the internet, seminars, webinars, workshops, and symposia. These activities will be directed primarily at State DOTs and the AASHTO Subcommittee on Materials, but will also include the broader engineering, regulatory, and construction communities through participation in the activities of various professional organizations (e.g., TRB, ASTM, ASCE). States are asked to contribute $25,000 each year. Contributions less than $25,000 are accepted; however this may limit the state’s voting power on proposed projects.

Please note that the operating budget of RMRC is $500,000.