Assessment of the technical suitability of recycled materials

According to the Guidelines on the use of use of recycled materials in transport infrastructure construction, the use of recycled materials in transport infrastructure projects carried out by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the ELY Centres requires the performance of either a general or project-specific technical suitability assessment by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. The technical suitability assessment is a requirement set by the party commissioning the transport infrastructure project, the aim of which is to ensure the functionality of the structures and the safe use of the materials.

A list of completed assessments for recycled materials suitable for infrastructure structures is maintained. If the suitability of a recycled material has not yet been assessed, it can be carried on a project-by-project basis if the schedule allows.

The suitability assessment can be carried out for a specific material and material supplier or for the sector’s common planning and use guidelines. The assessment procedure is described in the Assessment on the technical suitability of recycled materials. General evaluations are carried out by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s recycled materials evaluation team. If the common guidelines for the field have been determined to be applicable and the material and its application meet the requirements of the guidelines and assessment, no separate material-specific assessment is required.

Project-specific evaluations are the responsibility of the transport infrastructure project in question, but it is a good idea to contact the recycled materials evaluation team (contact person Henna Teerihalme, [email protected]).

A table has been prepared to act as an example and help in the planning and/or construction of test construction of recycled materials that presents the responsibilities of different parties according to a typical test construction project.

Whether recycled materials are environmentally sound and the need for an environmental permit must always be ensured when planning their use in transport infrastructure construction. An effort is made to ensure that a suitability assessment is complied with during planning, procurement and implementation, the recycled material is CE-labelled, and their properties correspond to the assessment.