The daily utilization of a large amount of raw materials is causing a rapid depletion of natural resources. The growth of the human population is accompanied by higher activities in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors that resulted in a larger volume of waste materials being disposed of in landfills each year. Researchers are seeking ways to reduce the adverse impact of waste materials on the environment. One method for managing waste materials is using them as a substitute for natural materials, for example, as aggregate replacement in the construction of road pavements. This paper reviews the previous studies that explored the use of waste materials as aggregate replacement in stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mix and the performance of asphalt pavements constructed using these materials. A systematic literature search of four databases revealed that waste materials could be used as an alternative to the natural aggregates. Future studies on the SMA mixes should investigate using other waste materials that could improve mix design and enhance pavement performance. There is a need to establish a standard code of practice and train material technologists to use different types of waste in SMA pavement construction. In summary, it is essential to perform a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the economic and environmental impacts of the different waste materials used as aggregates in SMA.
Keywords: Aggregate; Asphalt mix; Asphalt mix performance; Gap-graded asphalt mix; SMA; Waste materials.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.