ABSTRACT
The sustainability aspect accentuates increasing the resource efficiency of infrastructure transport, namely via the development of more economically and environmentally acceptable earth structures. This chapter focuses on saving land, natural aggregates and energy. Steeper slopes of fill or cuts are possible with the application of soil reinforcement, saving not only land but also energy for aggregate transport and compaction. The chapter discusses different savings – land, natural aggregates and energy – is only estimative, as there are significant mutual cross connections. Different types of nonstandard aggregates are now available which fulfil the requirement of replacing large volumes of standard aggregates in earth structures. Wood is undesirable as an aggregate, as are some other components, e.g. materials used as insulation. These soft or degradable components decrease material utilization and therefore should be sorted out. Great care should be devoted to structural collapse, similarly as for other nonstandard aggregates.
