Socrates Garrett Enterprises (SGE) is a diversified firm that consists of the following practice areas: Program/Project Management, Engineering Design Services, Disaster Recovery Services, Construction Management, Environmental/Waste Management Systems and Construction of Site Infrastructures. SGE provides key management resources in the form of Value Engineering Scheduling, Budget Controls and Administration.
Construction materials are increasingly judged by their ecological characteristics. Concrete recycling gains importance because it protects natural resources and eliminates the need for disposal by using the readily available concrete as an aggregate source for new concrete or other applications. SGE can substitute many construction materials with recycled concrete or asphalt. These materials are of equal, or better, quality than virgin aggregates and can be supplied at a lower cost than virgin materials.
Go Green! SGE can help your project reach the recycled material goals required by LEED. Whether it is from disposal at our Recycling Facility or by completing the recycling process through buying our MDOT approved concrete Flexible Base, SGE can help. SGE provides the construction industry significant economic and environmental benefits by recycling clean concrete rubble into MDOT Grade rock materials. By using crushed concrete products, anyone from homeowners, to landscapers, to general contractors, can help reduce landfilled concrete waste, conserve natural resources, and gain significant economic savings on materials and disposal costs.
Applications
General applications without any processing include:
Most of the unprocessed crushed concrete aggregate is sold as 37.5 mm (1½ in.) or 50 mm (2 in.) fraction for pavement sub-bases. After removal of contaminants through selective demolition, screening, and /or air separation and size reduction in a crusher to aggregate sizes, crushed concrete can be used as: new concrete for pavements, shoulders, median barriers, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and bridge foundations, structural grade concrete, soil-cement, pavement base, lean-concrete or econo-crete bases and bituminous concrete. It’s Just as Good, IF NOT BETTER!
The crushing characteristics of hardened concrete are similar to those of natural rock and are not significantly affected by the grade or quality of the original concrete. Recycled concrete aggregates produced from all but the poorest quality original concrete can be expected to pass the same tests required of conventional aggregates. Recycled concrete aggregates contain not only the original aggregates, but also hydrated cement paste. This paste reduces the specific gravity and increases the porosity compared to similar virgin aggregates. Higher porosity of RCA leads to a higher absorption.
Sustainability
Recycling concrete provides sustainability several different ways. The simple act of recycling the concrete reduces the amount of material that must be landfilled. The concrete itself becomes aggregate and any embedded metals can be removed and recycled as well. As space for landfills becomes premium, this not only helps reduce the need for landfills, but also reduces the economic impact of the project. Moreover, using recycled concrete aggregates reduces the need for virgin aggregates. This in turn reduces the environmental impact of the aggregate extraction process. By removing both the waste disposal and new material production needs, transportation requirements for the project are significantly reduced. In addition to the resource management aspect, recycled concrete aggregates absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment. The natural process of carbonation occurs in all concrete from the surface inward. In the process of crushing concrete to create recycled concrete aggregates, areas of the concrete that have not carbonated are exposed to atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The LEED® Green Building Rating System recognizes recycled concrete in its point system. Credit 4 (Materials and Resources) states, “specify a minimum of 25% of building materials that contain in aggregate a minimum weighted average of 20% post-consumer recycled content material, OR, a minimum weighted average of 40% post-industrial recycled content material.” Using recycled aggregates instead of extracted aggregates would qualify as post-consumer. Because concrete is an assembly, its recycled content should be calculated as a percentage of recycled material on a mass basis.
Credit can also be obtained for Construction Waste Management. It is awarded based on diverting at least 50% by mass of construction, demolition, and land clearing waste from landfill disposal. Concrete is a relatively heavy construction material and is frequently recycled into aggregate for road bases or construction fill.
SGE
2659 Livingston Road, Jackson, Mississippi 39213, United States
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