Standards and specifications
Standards and specifications play a critical role when developing, selecting and specifying the most appropriate products and materials for projects.
What are standards?
Standards are published documents that set out specifications and design procedures to ensure products and services consistently perform safely, reliably, and the way they're intended to.
There are Australian and international standards, standards developed by certain regulators, and industry standards developed by professional industry associations which relate to the performance of particular activities within the industries.
Standards are living documents which are updated to suit the changing needs of the economy and community. Standards are everywhere in your daily life, from the buildings you live in, to the way seatbelts operate in your car.
What are specifications?
Specifications outline the requirements of a specific company or product. A specification provides specific requirements for the materials, components or services used in an application. Sometimes, a specification will also dictate the installation or design layout of those components. Specification requirements may go above and beyond what is required in the standard.
Recycled content standards and specifications
Department of Transport (formerly VicRoads)
The Department of Transport (DoT) is a national leader in the use of recycled products in pavement construction. They take an equal opportunity approach to specification that is intended to allow contractors to choose between equivalent recycled or virgin quarry materials, based on price and availability.
Below are some DoT sections that include considerations for recycled content.
Reference number | Title | Recycled materials |
---|---|---|
Regulation Gap Graded Asphalt |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) |
|
Sprayed Bituminous Surfacings |
Tyres/rubber |
|
Earthworks |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), tyres/rubber, aggregate, glass |
|
Hot mix asphalt |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) |
|
High Binder Crumb Rubber Asphalt |
Tyres/rubber |
|
Light Traffic Crumb Rubber Asphalt |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), tyres/rubber |
|
Structural concrete |
Slag, fly ash |
|
Underground Stormwater Drains |
Slag, fly ash |
|
Subsurface Drainage |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), slag,aggregate, glass |
|
General concrete paving |
Slag, glass |
|
Drainage pits and covers. |
Glass, slag, fly ash |
|
Fencing |
Slag, fly ash |
|
Noise attenuation walls |
Recycled products with physical properties that comply |
|
Materials Sources for the production of crushed rock and aggregates |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), crushed concrete, Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag, glass and brick (supplementary material only) |
|
Crushed rock for pavement base and sub-base |
Aggregate, glass, crushed brick, crushed concrete |
|
Base and Subbase for Lower Trafficked Roads |
Aggregate, glass, crushed brick, crushed concrete |
|
Cementitious Treated Crushed Rock for Pavement Subbase |
Aggregate, glass, crushed brick, crushed concrete |
|
Search 107 at: |
Use of recycled materials in road pavements |
RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement),tyres/rubber, aggregate, glass, crushed concrete, crushed brick |
Please note: Some of these standards cross-reference each other creating opportunities to use recycled materials. For example, Section 705 (Drainage Pits) references Section 703 (General Concrete Paving) which allows the use of slag and unwashed glass.
Organics
Reference number | Title | Recycled materials |
---|---|---|
Australian Standard for Compost and Mulch |
Organics |
|
Soils for landscaping and garden use |
Organics/soils |