Recycling your concrete can be a great way to re-purpose old parking lots or driveways, without needing to invest in a brand new paving project for something new. The process works by taking out what is currently installed by breaking it up into small pieces. The concrete, or asphalt, is then taken to a different part of your property in order for it to be used in a variety of ways. Any excess broken concrete is then hauled away, leaving you with a useful feature, at a much lower cost than new construction.
Importance of Recycling Concrete
Broken concrete, especially the amount that would come from a large business’ parking lot, needs to go somewhere after it has been removed. You will be charged a fairly high fee for the old concrete to be hauled away, especially since it will take several trips with very large trucks to remove all of it. By recycling your broken concrete, you will save yourself the money on the haul-away fee, and possibly add to the value of your property.
Uses for Broken Concrete
A few of the more common uses for broken concrete include:
- Making walkways
- Building retaining walls
- Decoration
- Controlling erosion
Walkways are a great use for old concrete, since they do not need to stand up to extremely heavy loads like a driveway or parking lot. Building a walkway around a commercial building, apartment complex, or home is relatively simple, and you do not have to pay for new concrete to be poured, or wait for it to set.
Constructing a retaining wall out of broken concrete is a great way to save money on the materials needed to build the wall, and it can give it a rustic look that is not easily achievable with fresh concrete. Depending on the size of the retaining wall, it may end up using all of your available concrete, and then some, meaning you do not have to worry about having the rest of it hauled away.
Broken concrete can be used to make inlaid decorations outside in a patio area, in your landscaping, or other space that could use a new look. The decorative piece can be in nearly any sort of pattern that you want, and all that limits the size is how much space you have available.
Erosion control has been a big use for broken concrete for many years, though technology does make it a little easier to build shore walls, it can be prohibitively expensive to have a company build an erosion control wall for just a small lake or pond. By using broken concrete, you can prevent a pond from becoming filled with sediment by just dropping the pieces around most of the shoreline. The effect of wave action is greatly diminished, keeping the depth and area of the pond intact.
How Dykes Paving is Committed to Recycling
Dykes Paving constantly tries to show its customers in and around Atlanta, Georgia that reducing waste is not only good for the environment, but good for your checkbook. We recycle asphalt, concrete, and even roofing shingles, in order to keep costs low, help you get LEED credits, and keep our landfill footprint as small as possible. Recycling helps both us, and the consumer, save both time, and money.
There is really no drawback to reusing your broken concrete when you have the opportunity. It allows you to save money by dropping the haul away expense of new construction, it shows your customers you care about recycling, and you can improve your property at a fraction of the price of building new.
