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Concrete Disposal and Its Contribution To A Greener Earth

When you demolish, remodel, or put up structures, there is always some rubble left behind which needs to be cleaned up. This debris may be time sensitive meaning its collection should be done within a specified timeframe despite the cost involved. Every builder in Orange County knows that hauling off leftover debris such as wood, concrete, tiling, steel, and drywall is extremely difficult.

Fortunately, there are professional and licensed Orange County junk removal companies able to handle such kind of construction debris. Outsourcing the removal of this waste has logistical, economical, and efficiency benefits both to the contractor, the construction owner, as well as the immediate neighborhood. That aside, concrete waste disposal has numerous green benefits.

Once the waste has been cleaned up and hauled off from the construction site, it can be recycled and reused in many different ways. For instance, California produces over 12 million tons of concrete each year and not all end up in the landfill, but put in different uses as discussed below.

Concrete Aggregate

When the concrete debris is collected from the site, it is crushed and used as dry aggregate for new concrete. However, for it to be used this way it must be free of contaminants. The California Department of Transportation permits the usage of recycled concrete aggregate for certain applications. To add to that, the City of San Francisco also approved the use of recycled concrete aggregate for sidewalks, gutter, curbs, and street base.

Road Building

New road construction projects make use of small concrete pieces as gravel. Before fresh asphalt or concrete is poured, sub-base gravel is laid as the lowest layer on the road surface. Additionally, concrete pavements can be broken and the rubble collected to be used as a base layer for asphalt pavements in a process known as rubblization.

Riprap

Stream bank erosion has become rampart especially in wetlands due to pressure from human activities. To help in taming this nature damaging process, larger pieces of crushed concrete can be ferried to these sites and used as riprap revetments. If you have been keen enough around Orange County, you may have seen this material around ditch pipes, shorelines, and in landscaping. The concrete is usually broken down into pieces measuring between 10 and 18 inches in width.

Gabion Construction

Concrete debris can be used to fill cages or wire gabions which are then stacked together to provide retaining walls. The gabions are useful in protecting embankments and other similar structures against water damage. The size of the concrete debris doesn’t really matter because at the end, it is crushed and recycled before use.

Landscaping Products

Instead of dumping construction waste including concrete, the junk removal company usually takes it for crushing where it is graded into aesthetically pleasing materials and used as a substitute for landscaping aggregate or stone. You may have seen benches, rockeries, garden walls, terrace foundations and raised beds made of urbanite.  This is re-used concrete.

 When you outsource your concrete debris pickup and disposal, you are not just getting any other convenient service, but rather contributing a great deal to a greener planet through recycling and reuse.

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