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A granulated porous recycled waste glass (RWG), namely Poraver, derived from the differential separation of municipal solid waste, was used as aggregate in concrete formulations. On account of the intrinsically highly porous cellular structure of the reference materials, the concrete structures appeared particularly light and refractory to thermal effects. The use of this type of glass has been focused on the production of lightweight concrete that is able to improve thermal insulation in addition to demonstrating good mechanical properties. In this context, the thermal insulating properties of RWG-based cement conglomerates were analysed and compared with equivalent conglomerates produced by the use of expanded clays. Very promising results were obtained from the concrete prepared from a mixture of the recycled waste glass and expanded clays, in terms of the high mechanical resistance attributed to the clays coupled with lower thermal conductivity of expanded glass.

Recovery of solid waste materials as ‘secondary raw materials’ is promising in the context of the waste minimisation and recycling policies applied worldwide. In this context, recycling of thermally treated glass from the sorting operations for municipal and industrial solid waste leads to the formation of a versatile granular material, recycled waste glass, for potential use in the building industry as inert material for masonry and plaster. After investigation, cement mortars containing recycled waste glass showed improved thermal properties in comparison with conventional (sand-containing) composites. Enhancement of the acoustic absorption properties was observed in the range of 500 Hz. The improved performance was essentially associated with the porosity and granulometry of the recycled waste glass used. Overall, mortars containing recycled waste glass appear very promising in terms of lightweight composites with improved thermal and acoustic properties.

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