CRH has been finding innovative ways to recycle concrete over the past number of years – using demolished concrete to protect shorelines or crushing concrete back into aggregate form to repurpose in new concrete, or as a sub-base material. Such use of demolition waste plays an important role in the circular economy, reducing the demand for primary aggregates and importantly, reducing waste going to landfill.
But now CRH is leading the charge in optimizing their concrete elements by casting whole pieces of precast concrete which is a new and novel solution. This is an exciting development in the concrete industry, evolving from the historical recycling of crushed concrete as aggregates and a demonstration of the effectiveness of circular solutions.
In this scenario, Tscherning, a well-known demolition company in Denmark, managed to effectively ‘grab’ significant sized elements of concrete from demolished buildings, instead of cutting out the element pieces. Then, CRH stepped in to process and repurpose the material. The large slabs of precast concrete do not need additional machining, meaning no extra energy to process and recycle, and, given their size, they replace a significant volume of cement consumption in the construction of new elements. In fact, approximately 25% of the new cast elements contain the recycled material. What’s more, the recycled concrete elements are unique and give the product a rustic touch!
This innovative trial has resulted in a CO2 reduction of 26% compared to the company’s standard precast concrete elements, and 37%* reduction compared to the Danish generic industry average.
*37% CO2 reduction compared to the generic Danish data basis for concrete elements
