Reduce Concrete Waste
This strategy seeks to significantly reduce the concrete waste occurring at batch plants. It is estimated that approximately 5-8 percent of the concrete that is made in California every year is returned to the batch plants as waste. Concrete waste (or concrete returned to batch plants) is generated for the following two main reasons: 1) a load of concrete is not completely used, or 2) a load of concrete is rejected by an inspector due to the mix not meeting some specified characteristic. The worst case for a return in terms of GHG is when the plastic concrete is separated back to sand, gravel, and water, and the cement was then truly a waste product.
Concrete is almost always left over at the end of a job. The main reason is because it is more cost-effective to overestimate rather than be short of the material needed. Here are a few ways to reduce waste, and consequently GHG:
- Better estimating of total concrete requirements.
- Use of volumetric trucks to handle the exact needs of the last quantities of the day.
- Design locations to receive the returned or left over concrete. One of the ways to re-use the concrete would be to make concrete blocks for later sale. Another is to use that last truck to make sidewalks that may have been planned for a later placement.
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