| Summary: | Havana produces over 1000 m3 of construction and demolition waste (CDW) per day. Most of these residues are of a mixed composition; they come either from collapsing buildings in disrepair or demolition that are not performed selectively. From the CDW, there are usually two ways to produce recycled aggregates; one is by sifting the debris through a 5mm sieve which is a practice widely used by residents in cities and the other from is by crushing the coarse fractions in recycled aggregate producing machines. In this paper the recycled aggregates from the same mixed CDW are evaluated, one obtained by crushing the thick part of the residue and another by using the fine portion. Both recycled aggregates were used to produce masonry mortar as specified by the Cuban Standards to then determine the following properties: water retention, flexural strength, compressive strength, bond tensile strength, and water absorption by capillarity. The properties of the mortars were compared with the pattern given by a mortar made with natural aggregate and with the values set by the Cuban Standards. The results show that the mortars prepared from the coarse fraction of the residues have better mechanical properties complying with the principles of the Cuban Standard.
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