Page 59 - Hub-4 Magazine ISsue 64
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 Quarrying
 Technology and practice key to optimising concrete with recycled materials
Strength and quality are attributes measurable on a scale. High quality and low, strong and weak. So too are the quality and structural integrity of recycled sand and aggregates, writes Eunan Kelly, Head of Reco at CDE, the company’s construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste recycling focused sector.
When supported with the appropriate processing practices and technology, sand and stone resources recovered from CD&E activities are suitable for high-value construction and infrastructure projects.
UK Statistics on Waste, published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, estimates the UK generated 221 million tonnes of total waste in 2016, with CD&E activities accounting for over three fifths (62%) of that total .
The industry is the single largest contributor to waste generation in the UK by some margin, accounting for more than five times that of household waste which is 12% of total waste generated. These waste resources can be recovered to a high specification and returned to the construction sector to further the UK’s circular economy.
In the materials processing industry, we’re having to speak out in defence of recycled sand and aggregates and lobby for attitudinal change to encourage greater acceptance and adoption of recycled materials.
We’re often told it’s not possible to produce structurally sound concrete from recycled sand and aggregates or it’s unfeasible to replicate the water-to-cement ratio with recycled products to produce a durable concrete. Some people have even suggested that concrete produced from recycled aggregates has more embodied carbon than concrete produced from natural materials. These are arguments our industry is faced with regularly, and misconceptions that we at CDE move to challenge. >
 www.hub-4.com Sept/October 2020 - Issue 64
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