Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

...(recycled aggregates) for concrete production? The first decade of the second millennium was focused on a better production and use of energy. From the production of clean energy through renewables to the reduction of energy consumption in the main sectors (transport, industry and buildings operation), different opti- ons have been thoroughly studied. Environmental (reduction of greenhouse gases emissions), economic (reduce burden on families and busi- nesses) and geopolitical (ensure independence from unsecure regions) objectives were pursued. Energy is however not the only resource which can have environmental, economic and geopolitical impacts. All raw materials, at a different extent, can play a role. For example Europe has scarcity in rare earth, but has plentiful of resources for many other mineral materials (lime- stone, clay etc…); iron ore are scarce, but scrap steel is relatively available. The biggest mistake is to consider that a strategy valid for one material can apply to all others; at the same extent, considering recycling as the objective for “resource efficiency” would also lead to wrong decisions. What is at stake is the efficient use of locally available materials for the desired purposes. And that is why (European) regulators are now focusing on this aspect of business, making “resource efficiency” the key word of this decade for decision makers involved in manu- facturing.