Many materials from construction and demolition projects end up in landfills. By using recycled materials, the amount of waste from your projects is reduced.
Additionally, utilizing recycled materials often requires less energy than using brand new ones. Lastly, recycling is great for the local economy. It is also good for the environment, reducing pollution and waste from our landfills.
Recycled Concrete
When a building is torn down, it leaves behind tons of materials including asphalt and concrete. These materials were once just tossed into a landfill, but today, they can be reused in construction projects. Reusing these materials cuts down on energy costs, reduces pollution and conserves natural resources.
Concrete can be recycled into new structures that require a coarse aggregate, such as driveways, sidewalks and garden paths. This process typically involves crushing the old concrete into a finer medium, which can be done on site or off-site by a materials specialist using specialized equipment. Once it has been repurposed into an aggregate, recycled concrete can replace new materials such as stone and gravel, which lowers the overall cost of a project.
A recycled concrete mix also has the advantage of being able to be used as backfill, shoulder stone or pipe bedding. This further reduces the cost of the project by limiting the need to purchase additional materials.
Recycled concrete is also good for the environment as it can be used in environmental restoration projects, such as constructing an artificial coral reef. A local airport and contracting company used culvert pipes, footer pieces and box junctions made of recycled concrete to build a new marine habitat. This helped protect fish from predators and provided shelter for a variety of species.
Recycled Steel
Steel is one of the most recycled materials in the world and is incredibly durable. In fact, it’s so durable that some engineers call steel “the greenest element.” Steel doesn’t degrade during the recycling process and can be recycled hundreds of times without losing any strength. It’s no wonder why so many eco-friendly green buildings include reclaimed steel elements.
The most important advantage of using recycled steel is that it saves energy. Recyclable steel requires significantly less energy to produce than virgin steel. In addition, it reduces the amount of waste produced and decreases greenhouse gas emissions. Recycled steel also helps to conserve natural resources and prevents them from being depleted.
Recycled steel is a key component of many different construction materials, including drywall, rebars, and roofing sheets. Recycled steel is also ideal for making studs, which are crucial building components that distribute vertical structural loads. Recycled steel studs are lightweight and extremely strong, and they can resist mold, rot, and termite damage.
The most common source of recycled steel is old vehicles and household appliances, which are sent to scrap yards for recycling. The scrap is sorted and then melted into new steel products. Each ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 lbs of iron ore, 1,400 lbs of coal, and 40 percent of the water that is used in the production of new steel.
Recycled Glass
Using recycled materials in construction can inspire architects, designers, and builders to create unique and innovative designs that set their projects apart from traditional structures. These design innovations can also demonstrate a company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and support sustainable building practices.
Many recycled materials offer enhanced durability and resilience compared to traditional construction products. For example, recycled plastic lumber is resistant to rot and insects, making it an excellent choice for outdoor applications such as decking and fencing. Additionally, reclaimed wood offers increased strength and stability over time, making it an ideal option for flooring and structural components.
Glass, such as bottles and windows, is a popular recycled material. However, glass recycling is difficult because it is typically mixed with other materials during the waste management process. As a result, only about 40% of the glass recycled in the US actually ends up being used again.
The main challenge in boosting glass recycling is the availability of cullet, a raw material for making new glass. Many cities with single-stream recycling programs do not have a reliable source of cullet because they cannot afford to pay the higher costs associated with collecting and processing glass separately from other materials.
The good news is that there are several viable solutions that can help boost glass recycling rates. One option is to invest in separate-stream recycling systems that allow MRFs to pull out glass early in the sorting process.
Recycled Plastics
Plastics are the most common of all recyclable materials, but they’re often not used enough. Of the billions of tons of plastic produced every year, only about 9% is recycled. Recycled plastics can reduce landfill and energy consumption, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the need to manufacture new ones.
Recycled plastics are usually sorted by type and marked with a number or the triangular “chasing arrows” symbol. These codes identify different resins—chemical compounds that give plastic its distinct physical properties. For example, plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (commonly known as PET) can be downcycled into fleece jackets and carpeting. Meanwhile, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is commonly found in milk jugs and thermal vests, can be downcycled into plastic lumber.
Whether it’s from household recycling bins or industrial facilities, most plastic gets sent to waste-sorting plants called materials recovery facilities, or MRFs. Here, they’re sorted by like types and sometimes baled or compacted into space-saving cubes for transport. Some MRFs are automated, but many have a large manual sorting component. The sorted plastics are then loaded back up onto trains, trucks, or cargo ships for their next leg of the journey. Some contaminated materials—like legacy contaminants in PVC—can’t be recycled and must be incinerated or landfilled. This is why green construction standards such as LEED and Enterprise Green Communities have begun to include credits for recycled content that specify the chemical makeup of such material.