The Sustainability of Concrete Recycling
With limited landfill space, recycling concrete can be an excellent way to help reduce the amount of material that has to be landfilled. Whenever one uses recycled concrete, the need for virgin aggregates is lessened, which helps to reduce the environmental impact that the usual aggregate extraction process has.
Concrete recycling has a lot of green benefits that are better for the overall environment. It is designed as an efficient, logistical, and economic benefit, and on a mass basis, the recycled content of the concrete should be calculated as a percentage.
A Growing Practice
Anyone that works with concrete should consider switching to recycled concrete. Over the past few years, the reuse of concrete rubble has increased, due to its extra benefits. Not only does recycling concrete keep it from getting shipped to a landfill, it has many other benefits that can assist in keeping construction costs down. Recycled concrete can help to assist companies in depleting many natural resources, like water, gas, gravel mining, coal, and oil.
Useful Products Created from Recycled Concrete
Recycled concrete debris can be used for several products, and each year in the United States, there are millions of tons of waste concrete that is produced into other products. The following are some common uses that people have found for concrete waste:
- Road Building – The smaller pieces that come from concrete debris are often used as the gravel. That gravel is then used in road construction projects.
- Landscaping Products – The aesthetically crushed pieces of the concrete can be used as a substitute material in many landscaping stone projects.
- Concrete Aggregate – Often times, crushed recycled concrete can be used in certain circumstances. In new concrete, crushed debris from recycled concrete is the dry aggregate that is used.
- Riprap – Riprap is basically the larger fragments of recycled concrete that are used to help with riprap revetments, which help control erosion on steam banks.
- Gabion Construction – Crushed recycled concrete is used to help fill wire gabions and cages that are used for economic retaining walls, which help to protect structures and embankments.
Contact Us
Call us at (301) 336-6700 or toll free at (888) 554-1503 for recycled concrete in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Metropolitan area, Washington DC and Northern Virginia.
