Re: [greenyes] Question

[KirbGood@no.address]

In a message dated 5/18/04 6:48:53 AM, susankramer@no.address writes:

> Would using recycled glass for road base decrease the
> amount ot dust that is generated by driving?
> 
I think it would be highly dependent upon a comparison with local rock.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, in comparison tests done years ago, when we 
put glass and rock aggregate into a tumbler and ran it for days, the glass wore 
more than the rock, meaning that the glass would tend to "dust" more quickly 
than rock.
As I recall, in similar tests in New England, in an area that had mostly 
shale, when rock and glass were tumbled together, the rock broke up much faster 
than the glass.


If you've been around a glass processing facility, you know that in no way is 
glass immune to creating dust.

Then there's the problem of cleaning up glass aggregate enough that it 
doesn't have bits of labels, etc. before going into aggregate applications.   The 
cost to get glass aggregate that clean often far exceeds the cost of clean rock.

In a glassphalt project here, one of the problems that developed over the 
years was little bits of labels blowing around the edge of the road, resulting 
from contamination in the glass used in the asphalt.   You wouldn't want to make 
things worse.

On the positive side, if you developd a sub-base that had a better particle 
pack than the standard rock base, you might actually get less wear.

Bob Kirby