Concrete — we see it every day. It’s used for our roads, homes, office buildings, and sidewalks. It’s the most commonly used building material, but it is turning into a big waste problem. Concrete production has a large carbon footprint, and wasted concrete contributes to rising emissions too. With advancements in technology in the past several years, there are ways to reuse concrete that reduce carbon emissions. We’ll discuss one method in today’s blog. Visit our website to learn more about green concrete.
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association estimates that the United States concrete industry shipped 394 million cubic yards of ready mixed concrete in 2021. However, concrete is sometimes returned after a project is finished. Contractors commonly overorder concrete for a project to ensure they have enough and don’t have to place a last-minute order. Some ready mix concrete will arrive at the jobsite but won’t meet the specific requirements for that project, and will need to be returned along with any overage.
While returning extra concrete may not seem like a big deal, it does cause carbon emissions in transportation. Then concrete producers have to follow certain rules and regulations to take care of the returned concrete. They can use the old concrete and recycle it to make new concrete while following the appropriate environmental regulations. These regulations put in place for the recycling process only allow a very small amount of concrete to be used in this form again, causing most of the returned concrete to be crushed into aggregate, discarded, or turned into blocks.
CLARENA RC40 admixture is an additive and technology that’s helpful for reusing concrete. We can add this mixture to plastic concrete to convert it to a granular form. It can then be used to replace the coarse and fine aggregate in concrete, allowing it to be reused far more efficiently and simply than other recycling alternatives. On top of that, it’s biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
Interested in going green for your project? Whether you’re shopping around for an industrial, commercial or residential renovation, we’ve got you covered. Visit our website to get a free quote.