Believe it or not, concrete is recyclable. It’s not as straightforward as tossing an empty soda can into the recycling bin, but it’s not an impossible task either. And the benefits can make it worth your while.
As greater efforts are made industry wide to increase sustainable building practices and reduce materials waste, creating a recycling stream for cement is a good place to start. Not only that, but you can also seek out reusable concrete and other aggregates to add an additional layer of sustainability to your projects. So, let’s dig a little deeper into how concrete is recycled and why recycling it matters.
Most concrete waste comes from demolition rather than construction. When a structure is demolished, all kinds of building materials will remain in the rubble, ranging from wood and steel to concrete. The majority of the time this demolition waste is hauled away to a landfill. In the case of concrete, which is not biodegradable, it will degrade but never fully break down. Fortunately, concrete from demolition sites or new construction doesn’t have to end its journey at the landfill. In fact, it doesn’t ever have to go there in the first place! Today, we can reuse and repurpose concrete in ways that can make a positive impact on both the environment and your bottom line.
Recycling concrete has many benefits, especially if you’re looking to improve your margins, up your organization’s sustainability efforts, and earn feel-good points with local community stakeholders. Here’s why recycling concrete pays off:
An interesting study published in 2020 found that using recycled concrete can result in some pretty meaningful cost savings. On the producer’s end, reusing demolished concrete as recycled concrete aggregate can save around 40% compared to virgin concrete production. As those savings get passed along to buyers, people and businesses up and down the construction industry chain realize additional savings, too.
In a world where everything seems to cost exponentially more than it used to, finding savings across your projects isn’t just a good business practice, it’s a necessity. The more you can pivot to recycling concrete, the more you can save in fees, because the more you dump, the more you pay.
Whether you or your customer is pursuing LEED certification, prioritizing how you dispose of concrete waste can earn important credits. Make sure to review these LEED categories to see where you could qualify:
This one’s pretty obvious, but when you recycle concrete, you’re reducing the amount of waste that ends up in your community’s landfills, creating an alternative use stream, and decreasing the overall negative environmental impacts of concrete disposal.
Every day more and more new jobs are created as a result of technological advancements in sustainability. Once concrete ends up in a landfill, that’s it. Its job is done, both as a material and as a job creation resource. But recycling concrete creates more jobs at each new stage of the process as it’s harvested, crushed, screened, cleaned, and eventually developed into recycled concrete and aggregates.
Let’s get down to brass tacks: How do you actually recycle your concrete? Depending on the scope and size of your project — construction vs. demolition, residential vs. commercial vs. industrial, etc. — you’ve got options.
The simplest way to recycle concrete is to use it on your next job. It’s already bought and paid for if you’re doing a construction job, so why not create a little extra downstream savings for yourself. But if you don’t have room to store excess concrete waste, consider hiring some outside help.
If you’re not going to reuse your excess concrete, then you can rent a dumpster (you’re probably already doing this anyway) and hire a concrete removal service to take your recyclables to a concrete processor. Just make sure to keep the concrete you want recycled separate from all your other waste materials.
Skip the removal service and haul it to a concrete recycling facility yourself. With this method, you’re assured it reaches the right location (and not the landfill), and you avoid paying a removal service fee.
Check around your community and see if a local nonprofit or community group could use the extra concrete. It’s a nice way to give back to your community, support a cause you care about, and enjoy a tax writeoff, too.
Recycled concrete is as effective and durable as virgin concrete. So whether you’re reusing concrete you already have or are purchasing recycled concrete, you won’t be limited in how you can put it to good use.
Plus, crushed concrete is a sustainable choice. It’s made from recycled materials, reducing environmental impact while offering the durability and strength required for your projects’ various applications.
The best way to prevent concrete waste is to start with a solid estimate. Use our free Concrete and Materials Calculators to get estimates for concrete slabs, columns, tubes, plus gravel and sand. Or if you’re not sure exactly what you need just yet, fill out this form to request a quote. We carry an extensive inventory of coarse and fine aggregates, screenings, and local recycled materials and have proudly served the Florida Keys area since 1947. Sustainability is part of our mission, because we believe what is built today should support our community for generations to come. Whether you’re new to recycling concrete or using recycled concrete, we’re here to help.