Introduction
Mention the word demolition to just about anyone and the picture that immediately comes to mind is often a vision of a building being blown up and collapsing to the ground. Many people have said that they would really like to press the button, to trigger the explosive systems which bring a disused property to the floor. On many occasions what comes down, must go up so we are seeing many unsightly properties being taken down to help with making way for potential future development, frequently as part of a regeneration project.
For firms who over many years have created their business around the demolition of properties, the demolition sector is now considerably more reaching than simply demolishing old and unwanted buildings. Once the property is demolished the tremendous task of site clearance begins and in a community where consideration of the environmental effects are ever increasing on many peoples agenda, the material residues from demolition need to be separated for recycling reasons. This will include such materials as steel, wood, plastic, brickwork and concrete.
Most of the materials tend to be bulked up and transported to the appropriate recycling plants for reprocessing. Resources such as bricks and concrete are usually crushed and converted into a recycled concrete aggregate substance available for reuse in the construction of new highways or buildings. Ever more though, via advances in technological development, residues like rubble to be recycled have to meet a high specification for reuse in construction projects.
When crushed, the assorted sizes of recycled aggregate will govern the likely usage potential of the product. Large sizes might be employed as ornamental rockery products in landscaping whilst much finer, almost shingle like product can be utilised as a bedding for pipe laying or for a layer in street construction. Through an ever-increasing amount of options identified for the reuse of recycled aggregate, the whole demolition and construction market is making a substantial contribution to sustainable development. Following demolition of a site, many demolition contractors have expanded their service offering to include site clearance services.
Reasons Behind the Increased Focus on Recycling from Construction and Demolition Projects
In 1996, UK Government imposed a levy on all waste products going to landfill. The levy is paid out on top of standard gate rates for waste material being disposed in landfill and since its launch the price has risen annually. When first introduced, the typical rate of duty for general waste materials being sent to landfill was �7 per tonne and �2 per tonne for inert products. The tax should persuade commercial and industrial businesses and local authorities collecting from properties, to divert waste away from landfill for recycling. In April 2009, the common rate of landfill duty grew to �40 per tonne and is timetabled to increase annually by �8 per tonne until 2013. The reduced rate of tax incurred upon any inert materials going to landfill including concrete and soils, has stayed comparatively stable recently and is currently at �2.50 per tonne.
Nonetheless, the weight of a bulk load of these inert products going straight to landfill will ensure that the full cost of disposal becomes extremely expensive and so even in the demolition and construction sector, diverting waste from landfill is a priority.
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The next time you see a demolition project happening or pass almost any construction site during a build programme, it is clear to see the quantity of waste materials being produced. If waste isn’t in skips, heaps of rubble will probably be stacked high. The placing of brick waste material in skips has been a serious issue for waste companies for many years. Having been an employee in the waste industry, I’ve seen skip trucks tipped backwards with the cab of the vehicle up in the air, because of the sheer overloading of waste skips with construction site waste.
Each and every year, the uk generates around 330 million tonnes of waste material and approximately 90 million tonnes of this is coming from construction and demolition wastes. This figure has stayed fairly constant since 2001. Approximately two thirds of this waste is generally recycled or reused in land reclamation or agricultural improvement projects. Ever since the late 1990s there has been a steady rise in the volumes of construction waste material being recycled and this has been assisted by advances in technology which have led to improved crushing products to create more common use of varying specifications of recycled aggregates.
In recent years, the construction sector in general has worked hard to motivate construction site managers to place a larger emphasis upon recycling on site. This has led to a growth in the recycling of inert materials from site.
Before the introduction of the landfill levy just about all construction site waste material including bricks and concrete would be bulked up and transferred to a landfill site for disposal. No regard was given to recycling. Nowadays there are stringent regulations across the sector, as well as an increase in environmental consciousness, as well as the commercial advantages in ensuring that this sort of waste is now recycled. Addititionally there is greater recognition of the large choice of potential business opportunities to use recycled aggregates in the construction process on future construction projects or in arenas such as landscaping or home and garden DIY. Following the demolition process, together the waste concrete, bricks, masonry etc will be transformed into a recycled concrete aggregate. Recycling of aggregates has become a common process for demolition contractors.
To recycle concrete aggregate to a high standard and resalable product, it has to be totally free of other impurities such as wood, paper, card, steel and other general waste materials. The end product also needs to conform to the requirements of British Standard BS 8500. The process of recycling the concrete can typically be achieved in one of two ways. Some demolition contractors will locate a crushing device on the demolition site, whereas a lot of contractors will choose to carry the waste to be recycled, to their premises for segregation for recycling or re-use. On projects where demolition and new construction is to take place at the same site, the contractor is very likely to position a crushing unit on site to avoid incurring additional transportation costs in taking the material back to a sorting and crushing centre. There is now very sophisticated crushing equipment available to reduce concrete to a very fine specification.
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The Increasing Interest in High Quality Recycled Aggregate
Before commencing the crushing process, it has to be determined what the end product will be used for to make certain that the recycled aggregate is to meet the required standards. There’s huge demand for recycled concrete aggregate to be used within the construction process. As a product, recycled concrete aggregate can be utilised for just about any kind of concrete structural work, road surfacing or pipe laying project. Having passed through the crusher the chunks of aggregate can be sorted by size. Bigger pieces may be retained as a decorative product to use in landscaping rockery projects, or they could be passed back through the crusher to be crushed to a reduced size. The smaller pieces of recycled aggregate may be suited to use as a gravel on new construction projects, road laying or driveways at home. The crushing machines are now capable of achieving good quality small aggregate grades such as the production of a 20-5mm gravel which can be bagged and used in the garden at home or purchased in bulk as part of projects involving new concrete production. The advances in technology mean that the recycling of aggregates for other uses such as a simple gravel product or for use in concrete products has greatly reduced the need to dig quarries to mine for gravel.
The interest in good quality crushed aggregate is increasing. There’s key standards in place that are concentrated upon improving the recycled concrete aggregate sector. By means of research and improvement, more widespread uses are being identified for the employment of recycled aggregate. No more is concrete, just concrete. What we are talking about now are many different grades of recycled aggregate, which range from the large sections of aggregate to very specific 6f2 recycled concrete which can be used as a sub-base material for construction jobs, or 20-5mm recycled aggregate, which is a gravel and can be utilised in road construction or at home on driveways. In addition to being used as a mix for road construction, recycled aggregate is being used as bedding for pipe laying or base material prior to construction projects commencing. In achieving such high quality grades the 20-5mm recycled aggregate can be used as an aggregate base in highway construction and the quality meets the standards necessary to allow its reuse in concrete production. The 20-5mm recycled aggregate is a very versatile product.
On the list of important criteria when you use recycled aggregate is selecting the right specification for your task. For instance, when making use of 20-5mm coarse graded aggregate for a highway foundation, the thickness of the layer needed needs to be determined to stand up to traffic flows. Traffic flow on a motorway is going to be significantly different to that of a country road. One good reason aggregate produced to a 20-5mm specification is used as a road base is that it assists good waterflow and drainage. Once the recycled aggregate is installed, suitable layers of asphalt or concrete can be laid over it to construct the road surface.
Recently, in the UK we seem to have more rain than sunshine and for that reason the selected aggregate must be able to endure variances in temperature and conditions e.g. dampness for long periods, torrential downpours, long dry spells. With its good waterflow and drainage qualities, the recycled 20-5mm product could be the perfect choice for many sand and gravel applications including, pipe bedding, driveways and footpaths, landscaping, and also for use in ready mixed and precast concrete products. With its drainage qualities, 20-5mm recycled aggregate is a useful product.
Crushing machines are capable of producing good quality recycled concrete which can be used for a variety of purposes.
Recycled Aggregates and the 2012 Olympics
In its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, London placed sustainability as the focal point of its bid. The bid team recognized a big opportunity to increase awareness of climate change and the problems that encircle it, and bring it to the Globe’s attention. With the eyes of the Entire world observing, the Olympic Games present a unique opportunity to convey key messages with regards to sustainability. Throughout the entire growth and development of the Olympics project, there exists a commitment to make 2012 by far the most sustainable Olympic Games ever held. This focus began when planning the design and build programmes for the amenities and venues, the transportation links and system, the hosting of the Games themselves and will conclude by leaving a long lasting heritage of a sustainable environment.
Since London was awarded the Games, all companies involved with the development specifications, from the building of the Olympic Arena, the Olympic Village and transportation links to the venues have been focused upon guaranteeing the use wherever possible of sustainable materials. Across the entire Olympic build programme architects have worked hard to discover appropriate sustainable materials for use in the build programme. At the end of the overall project there will be some clearly obvious examples of the use of sustainable products.
Equally there will be many more that are much less visible, and furthermore, many which will be not visible at all. One of those products which visitors to the games and its numerous sites will not even think about how recycled aggregates are used as part of the overall construction project. But developers and specifiers of resources to be used within the build programme will be secure in the knowledge that they have selected sustainable products which include, the most suitable recycled concrete aggregates as part of the project. With its recognized qualities, let us hope that somewhere in the worldwide TV coverage the 20-5mm recycled aggregate gets a mention somewhere, somehow. Imagine being asked to supply recycled aggregate which meets a very specific 20-5mm clean material specification, to help build the 2012 Olympic Village.
Conclusion
How times have changed recently in the demolition and construction market. Businesses have needed to adapt to meet challenging green standards. As with just about any market, new regulations and legislation dictate the benchmarks to which your company must aspire, if it is to achieve success.
Companies involved in the generation of recycled concrete aggregate aren’t any different. These are classed as processed materials and must conform to a particular product specification which can be used in the construction process. The standard BS8500-2 offers a full specification for the uses of recycled concrete aggregates in concrete, although with such a vast range of recycled aggregates an all encompassing specification for the use of these aggregates is yet to be determined. The most crucial thing is that the industry does not stand still and wait for the specifications to be finalised. The versatility of recycled aggregates means that demolition contractors operating crushing plants are seeking to identify markets through which to sell their recycled products. The advances in crusher technology and machinery has seen a big increase in the options now available in offering large chunks of recycled aggregate for landscape gardening use in rockeries, down to a gravel type 20-5mm recycled aggregate with its good drainage qualities to be used in road construction and driveways. The demolition and construction industry now places sustainability at the forefront of its future development projects.
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