Can Concrete Be Recycled?

Concrete isn’t just recyclable, it’s actually one of the most commonly recycled of all materials, and is being recycled daily at sites across the UK and reused for all kinds of construction and landscaping projects.

In this article, the Stewart Brothers Concrete team is going to explore why concrete is more of an eco-friendly product than you might have thought, and how modern methods of production can reduce its carbon footprint still further.

How does concrete recycling work?

Concrete, once mixed, laid and cured, tends to last for a long time, assuming everything has been done properly. On average, that’s usually for between 50 and 100 years, as we explained in this earlier article. However, even the best concrete is eventually going to degrade to the point where it needs to be dismantled, removed and disposed of.

In previous times, the waste concrete resulting from such demolition might have ended up in landfill. However, we now break it down into smaller pieces using specialist machines known as concrete crushers. The resulting material is known as crushed concrete (6F5) or recycled concrete aggregate (RCA).

Once crushed, it then needs to be screened to remove debris and impurities so that the resulting aggregate is of a high enough quality to be reused. 

Crushing can turn old concrete into aggregates in a wide range of sizes and with an even wider range of uses. Here are just a few of the benefits of turning waste concrete into recycled aggregates:

• It makes it easier to remove from the demolition site.
• It avoids the use for using new materials in future projects.
• It’s cost-effective as well as saving on energy use.
• It has a lower carbon footprint.
• It avoids filling up landfill unnecessarily.

At Stewart Brothers Concrete, we supply recycled aggregates in a number of forms that have been created using recycled concrete. 

What can recycled concrete be used for?

These are just a few of the common uses for crushed and recycled concrete:

• As a sub-base for driveways, roads and other similar projects.
• As a stabilising material for pipes in trenches.
• As an aggregate in new concrete – as long as structural strength isn’t going to be a key requirement.
• For backfilling trenches and foundations.
• In stormwater management and drainage systems.

Low carbon concrete

We’ve recently introduced a new form of concrete that has even greater environmental benefits. Low carbon concrete replaces some of the Portland cement commonly included in a concrete mix with less carbon-intensive alternatives. The result is a concrete that is just as strong but with CO2 emissions reduced by as much as 70%.

Here at Stewart Brothers Concrete, we’re one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of high-quality concrete to domestic and commercial customers across Kent and East Sussex. We also supply high-quality new and recycled aggregates, ideal for all your construction and landscaping applications.

For more information on Can Concrete Be Recycled? talk to Stewart Brothers Concrete