Crushed Concrete: What It’s Used For & Why It’s Popular

What is Crushed Concrete?

Crushed concrete is exactly what it sounds like - it's concrete debris that has been crushed into small pieces to recycle or upcycle it. Crushed concrete is also commonly known as recycled concrete aggregate, or RCA.



Crushed concrete typically features properties that are similar to crushed asphalt. One of the big benefits of crushed concrete is that it's much more economical and sustainable to use compared to creating new concrete for the same purposes. Noting this, it can align with any sustainability goals. Another big benefit of crushed concrete is that it can save money on the project, notably when it comes to the landfill fees that would otherwise have to be paid to haul concrete debris off-site.

How Is Crushed Concrete Made?

Crushed concrete is created using industrial crushing equipment, such as crushers or shredders. Here's a look at the typical process on a demolition site:

• Demolition crews do their job demolishing a building, collecting remnants of concrete scrap that comes down.
• Industrial crushing equipment is brought on-site and used to process the concrete remnants from demolition. This crushing equipment works to break big chunks of concrete down into smaller parts.
• After concrete is broken down, steps are taken to ensure that any contaminants are removed from the mix. This includes things like metal, rebar, plastic, and other construction debris.
• Once contaminants are removed, the crushed concrete is sorted by size and quality of the end mix.
• Once sorted, the concrete is shipped off-site to be used again, usually as a backfill for roads, driveways, parking lots, and other infrastructure.
  

Key Uses for Crushed Concrete in Construction

What is crushed concrete used for? It's largely upcycled as an aggregate to create new concrete or concrete-based products.



More specifically, concrete crushed on demolition projects is largely turned into CA6 or PGE, two types of stone used in infrastructure construction work. CA6 is a type of crushed limestone largely used as a base material when paving driveways, parking lots, or building pads. PGE is a granular stone that's often used as a base material when paving new roads.

Benefits of Crushed Concrete

Several benefits are associated with having concrete crushed on your next demolition project. Here's a look at some of them:

It's Sustainable

With construction and demolition waste becoming much more of a focus as companies establish sustainability goals, crushing concrete is one way to help meet certain green initiatives. Crushed concrete results in a 100 percent recycled product that can be reused for other purposes, notably as a backfill material for roads, driveways, parking lots, and more. What's more, is that you'll divert this concrete construction debris from landfills and also eliminate the emissions from the vehicles that are necessary to help transport it there.

Finally, upcycling concrete in this way also saves on the energy and resources that would otherwise be necessary to create the granular backfill for such projects.

It Saves Money

Crushing concrete isn't just good for the environment, it's also good for your company's bottom line. By crushing concrete on site and upcycling it into backfill material for other projects, you're avoiding having to send it to a landfill. With landfills becoming more and more crowded, rates for depositing construction debris - like concrete - are increasing.



Furthermore, you may even be able to reduce the total cost of your demolition project by selling the crushed aggregate for other purposes.

It's Easy

Another benefit of concrete crushing on your next demolition project is how easy it is. When you work with Alpine Demolition, you can rest assured that all permits and paperwork will be handled, and our concrete crushing teams will arrive on-site to carry out the task. There's no hassle on your part, as we aim to make things as convenient as possible.

How do you know if crushed concrete is right for your project? The more concrete that was used to create the building is going to mean that there's more that's able to be crushed and recycled. So if you're dealing with high volumes of commercial concrete, then concrete crushing is likely to make sense for your project.



If you have any questions about concrete crushing and whether it would apply to your demolition project, contact Alpine Demolition today for an assessment and estimate.

For more information on the benefits of crushed concrete and whether concrete crushing is right for your next demolition project, contact Alpine Demolition today. With more than 30 years of experience in demolition throughout the greater Chicago area, part of our value proposition is our ability to uniquely offer value-added services, such as concrete crushing, on projects. Better yet, you can trust us to handle all the necessary permits and paperwork, and we'll carry out the crushing right on-site to make everything as convenient as possible.

Contact us today to learn more and to schedule a consultation for your next demolition project.