In a bid to protect the environment and conserve resources, many industries have resorted to recycling. Recycling is essential, but you may wonder what you can recycle in your construction project.
Unless your project is on virgin land, there is always a lot to recycle from your dilapidated or demolished building. But there is less reuse of concrete, yet it is the most significant part of a building.
Recycling concrete is crucial in a construction project. And apart from the benefits, the concrete can be reused for many purposes.
Alleviate the Problem of Waste Removal
The sure thing after demolishing a building involves removing waste from the site. The site has to be clean for the new project and safety purposes. But, with the possibility of recycling concrete and other materials, there is no need to incur the cost of waste removal.
Cut on Material Procurement Costs
Apart from preceding the cost of removing the waste from your site, you do not need to buy as much cement as earlier planned. With the high price of cement and building materials, recycling helps you save a lot of money and resources, which in turn you can redirect to other essential phases of your project
Environment Benefits
Concrete waste is always bulky, and disposing of it is stressful. More, the impact waste poses to the environment is enormous. One, mounds of concrete dumped of anywhere is a misuse of land, usable for other profitable projects.
Concrete itself has little CO2 emissions and absorbs CO2 through carbonation, but the manufacturing of cement directly results in more C02 emissions through Calcination. Click here for more info, if you want to know more about cement’s impact on the environment.
Leed Points
Recycling concrete helps the builder to earn Leed points, but as a client, you benefit more from Leed. First, your building gets recognition for Leed compliance. With the increasing demand for green products, it will be easier to let out your house. Besides, leed recognized properties tend to have higher resale values.
Uses of Recycled Concrete
Recycled concrete has many applications in any project. First, it can be used as part of the aggregate for the new project and reduce material requirements. It can also be used to create recycled concrete paths and walkways around a project.
In the construction of trenches and waterways, recycled concrete applies as a replacement for gravel in the waterways foundations.
