Pit & Quarry, May 2015

SPECIAL SECTION SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL this material out of landfills and stockpiles where it would sit for decades Our customers appreciate the environmental aspect of the products We see a growing governmental emphasis on recycling aggregate products too From a corporate consciousness standpoint recycling is an important company activity Added benefits In addition to recovering some demolition and transportation costs construction companies that sell recyclable products to Nelson Aggregate recognize the advantages of engaging in environmental sustainability In 2014 Nelson Aggregate recycled more than 200000 tons of C D materials They are also relieved of having to find a landfill that will accept deposit of their demolition material Some landfills no longer accept recycled asphalt or concrete Drew says The cost of disposing of it can become significant if a company has to haul it too far Most landfills just wont take it and if they do tipping fees are very expensive here Nelson Aggregate has moved into not only concrete recycling but also asphalt recycling Materials come from rebuilt roads and buildings In 2014 the company recycled more than 200000 tons of material Concrete is a smaller portion of what were doing at the moment but that could change year to year Drew says Our recycled asphalt stone blend is typically 25 percent to 30 percent recycled product and 70 percent to 75 percent virgin limestone In 2014 we increased our use of recycled asphalt from 70000 to 75000 tons of RSA that went back into the marketplace Inspecting quality The properties and quality of recycled asphalt pavement RAP can vary greatly depending on the properties of the original materials used to create the mix Quality can also be affected by the number of times a paved road was resurfaced crack sealed and patched or seal coated While the majority of its RAP and recycled concrete products are sold to the private sector Nelson Aggregate developed a detailed inspection protocol to ensure they purchase 100 percent recyclable products Because excess granular material soil or debris can sometimes become mixed with stockpiles of broken asphalt or concrete inspection includes checking for the presence of these unacceptable materials Demolition approaches such as milling or crushing recyclable pavement can also affect material quality The properties and quality of recycled asphalt pavement can vary greatly depending on the properties of the original materials used to create the mix Quality can also be affected by the number of times a paved road was resurfaced crack sealed and patched or seal coated Inspection of a load verifies particle size and degradation Most sources are likely to be well graded coarse aggregate perhaps slightly finer than crushed natural aggregates Due to weathering cement adhering to aggregate is typically harder than new asphalt cement Moisture content also varies Acquiring recyclable materials Nelson Aggregates largest recycling company is in Burlington Ontario about 30 minutes west of Toronto The location is good for customers bringing in broken asphalt or concrete Often customers bringing recyclable products in are also using Nelson Aggregate products for new road or building projects Most of the product Nelson Aggregate purchases comes from a 75 mile region We receive material all year round but we make it clear that were not a dump or fill site Drew says Every load that comes into the site is inspected to ensure it doesnt contain unwanted material We dont accept materials mixed with anything else If its asphalt the entire load must be asphalt and the same with concrete Weve run into issues in the past which led to development of our current stringent protocol Every load that comes in is inspected by our personnel to make sure its acceptable If it isnt its turned away Reprocessing procedure Because they cannot process both recyclable material and virgin limestone at the same time Drews company has found it to be more economically feasible to hire a contractor to crush and handle recycled material They maintain a separate site for receiving and processing recycled product Most of the demand for our recycled blends is coming from the private sector Drew says The public sector is still somewhat leery of using blended products especially with regard to recycled asphalt In infrastructure projects 24 PIT QUARRY May 2015 www pitandquarry com