Concrete Recycling Generates Income Instead Of Waste

Recycling has been a way of life for the past couple of decades, particularly for common household and industrial items such as bottles, cans, cardboard, paper and metals such as steel and aluminium, to name a few. These are the items that immediately come to mind when recycling is noted. However, a quiet revolution is taking place in Demolition Brisbane, construction and other similar industries where concrete is a building essential. Every piece of concrete eventually reaches the end of its useful life, and while in the past, it was almost always dumped in land fill, new processes and machines have made it simple and viable for concrete to be recycled.

Large quantities of concrete end up in landfill every year through a lack of education about the pluses of concrete recycling, and the methods now available to make it cost effective. Demolishing a large concrete structure, for example, produces tonnes of waste concrete. By using techniques such as concrete cutting demolishers are able to process this waste.

Concrete can be recycled either by transporting it to a processing centre, or by re-using it directly from site. The latter is the most economical option but relies for success on the following;

=> The availability of portable equipment suitable for breaking up broken concrete;

=> Demand for use at site for broken concrete which requires no further processing.

If the concrete is removed to a processing centre, it is broken down and any foreign pieces removed. It is then sorted out by size and quality, and crushed for recycling. Crushed concrete can be used to make aggregate. During the processing, steel reinforcing is often exposed and this can be removed from the concrete using powerful magnets. This steel can also be reused.

New technology is making concrete recycling on site much easier and more cost efficient. The availability of specialized machines for breaking up used concrete, new methods for removing foreign parts and powerful, and more effective crushing machines are all combining to create a culture where contractors will provide for this scenario by incorporating concrete recycling into all areas of their business.

By using these means during demolition, contractors will be able to actually achieve income from concrete recycling. Previous to this it was a cost as it had to be removed from site and transported to either a processing centre or a land fill location.

The recycling process for concrete will help to alleviate the heavy demand placed on areas for land fill and will in addition save on all of the energy and resource which would be needed to create new concrete. This will have effect right from the beginning where mining is involved through all stages of process until the desired outcome of concrete is created. This is a much more environmentally responsible outcome than dumping it into landfill.

During demolition, contractors create huge quantities of broken concrete. Using new techniques such as Concrete Cutting Brisbane, construction workers are able to reuse this material.