Did you know that 140 million tons of concrete get recycled every year? Landfills continue to mount with no end in sight, but there are recycling methods that are better for the Earth.
Not only can the environment benefit from recycled concrete waste, but you can too! Read on to learn all about the process of recycling concrete.
How Is Concrete Waste Recycled?
Industrial crushing equipment with large impactors and jaws is used to recycle concrete waste. Once the concrete gets broken up, a secondary industrial impactor removes particles and dirt.
If there are specific elements in crushed concrete that need to get removed, the following will help:
- Water flotation
- Separators
- Magnets
Although this is the general method for recycling concrete, there is an alternative that pulverizes concrete. However, this is not a great option as the separation process leads to more contamination.
What Is Old Concrete Used for?
Old concrete has some of the same uses as new concrete does. For example, you can use recycled concrete for paving materials, aggregates, and gravel.
Even broken concrete can create a stable traffic surface. It can also be used as a base for new paving through the rubblization process.
Concrete that is crushed properly is also used for landscaping mulch. It can replace gravel such as river rock.
Believe it or not, the ocean can benefit from used concrete too. In fact, this material can be positioned offshore to form a foundation for coral to build new oceanic reef habitats.
Concrete Waste Disposal Process
Instead of dumping concrete waste anywhere, find a company that will handle the process for you such as Ramco. When you find a concrete waste collection company, they will send it to a recycling facility instead of a landfill.
The most common types of concrete waste are:
- Concrete slabs
- Concrete pipes
- Bricks
- Blocks
- Rubble
- Unused wet cement
Concrete is a recoverable resource which is why most companies make the drop-off process free of charge. This benefits the environment and your pockets.
The next phase is crush and sort that involves breaking up larger pieces and extracting metal reinforcements. The clean concrete waste gets picked up and loaded into the crushing machine.
Next, the demolished concrete waste gets taken by companies that use these recycled materials. A lot of these companies will have their own road trucks to deliver recycled concrete to local consumers.
When the concrete arrives at the designated work site, it is put to use in different ways. Concrete recycling is cheaper and better for the environment compared to fresh products.
Should You Recycle Concrete?
Concrete waste does not need to end up in a landfill when there are better options out there. To save yourself some money and better the environment, find a concrete waste disposal company you can trust.
Often, these companies will take the concrete you don't need for free and use it for different projects. Consider this guide when you have concrete you need to get rid of.
For more construction and industrial blog posts, check out the other articles on our blog.