Large scale in-situ direct shear tests (300 mm*300 mm box) of demolition waste are performed to gain insight on the shear response of compacted demolition waste. In-situ direct shear apparatus has only one shear box different from the standard box shear test. A loading plate is placed on the samples, and the shear box is pulled horizontally by a flexible rope. According to Mohr-Coulomb criterion, the in-situ internal angle of friction and cohesion of the compacted demolition waste are in the ranges of 45 degrees and 30 kPa, respectively. Due to particle crushing, the relationship of shear strength to normal stress much better fits into the power-law criterion than the Mohr-Coulomb criterion. The power-law exponent is a function of the fractal dimension of demolition waste particle fragmentation. And the fractal dimension of demolition waste fragment-size distribution is in the vicinity of 2.50 with the value of the power-law exponent being 0.89. The power-law criterion is also verified by the shear strength of the recycled glass samples. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.