How to make money recycling concrete
Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world after water. 4.4 billion tons of the substance are produced every year, and in the construction industry, it is used twice as much as all other building materials combined!
You're now asking yourself, 'how can I make money from concrete?' - To help you get started, we put together this post to cover the financial benefits of recycling concrete, how your company can do it, how much money you can make crushing concrete and what processes are involved.
How concrete is recycled
Recycling concrete is achieved by breaking it down using crushing equipment such as a jaw crusher. It can be processed and broken down further by using an impactor crusher to produce a finer aggregate.
It can also be screened to separate the finer material from the chunkier pieces; now the concrete aggregate is ready to be repurposed as road base, fill, or decorative stone.
If necessary, specialized equipment like water flotation systems, concrete wash plants, and magnets are used to remove any unwanted foreign matter that might be mixed in with the crushed concrete.
Uses for recycled concrete
Recycled concrete aggregates have the same uses as rock or gravel aggregates, with the exception of old, low-quality, or contaminated concrete. Recycled concrete can be used as a replacement for new aggregate, allowing a contractor to save money by eliminating or reducing the cost of materials on certain jobs.
Crushed concrete is a highly versatile product, with a range of uses for road projects or on construction sites. Applications include base material placed beneath roads, pavements, embankments, and car parking lots.
It has slightly different properties to traditional concrete and actually adds benefit to these surfaces by allowing water to be filtered through much easier, reducing slip hazards.
For paving businesses that specialize in the removal and construction of roads and demolition companies, recycling concrete proves to be an excellent opportunity to save, grow, and invest.
This is because it is simply not necessary for the concrete in these structures to be discarded as waste, especially when it is possible to reuse it and save money in the process.
Why throw away the old road when it can be crushed down and re-used on site? This also cuts down on fuel, rent, and operator costs associated with hauling waste materials away from sites.
From another perspective, it makes an ideal mulch, stone, or gravel replacement ready to be used in gardens, as long as it is effectively cleared of foreign matter. For more information on the pros & cons of recycled concrete, check out our blog!
How can I make money recycling concrete?
Concrete is everywhere, and contractors can save a lot of money (or even make some) by recycling your own old concrete from job sites.
The future of concrete re-use for businesses will be driven by two main factors, which are disposal location availability/costs and environmental awareness.
Currently, within the United States (depending on the state's requirements), it is a legal obligation for contractors to properly dispose of concrete waste. The cost of renting a 25-yard construction skip is approximately $500 USD without permits and taxes.
The other option is that you would transport the concrete yourself; in this situation, you can expect to pay at the landfill approximately $53 per ton without including the transportation costs.
We hear a lot of our customers tell us they are paying thousands of dollars a month just to get rid of waste concrete, which someone else is crushing and making money from.
Compare this to renting or buying a crusher and recycling the concrete on hand, and we find a huge cost saving is to be had. For example, we recently spoke to a paving contractor that is dumping 260 tons of concrete a month.
Here's a breakdown of his current costs:
- 80 man hours x $20 = $1,600
- Dump trailer rental = $250
- Trailer insurance = $100
- Fuel = $300
- Dumping costs = $2,000
- Base material costs = $2,500
Total = $6,750
For this use case, we recommended a small, mobile tracked crushing unit that can break down 34 tons of concrete an hour. This is more than enough for the material requirements and can easily be taken to almost any site with its 10'1" x 4'9" transport footprint.
Here's how the costs work out with this crusher:
- Monthly crusher finance = $1,400 (starting cost per month, business profitability dependent)
- Dump trailer rental = $0
- Machine insurance = $450
- Fuel = $20 (1/4 gallon per hour crushing)
- Dumping costs = $0
- Base material costs = $0
Total = $1,870
This means by crushing their own concrete, this contractor could be saving almost $5,000 per month!
And this is before we even start to talk about the possibility of crushing waste concrete for other people. Once the concrete is crushed, screened, and made into a highly usable aggregate, it will have a retail value of $15 USD to $5 USD per ton (depending on your location and buyer).
Renting a crusher is also an option if you want to test the waters before buying a machine. But beware, as most of our customers that are already renting pay about 3x the amount to rent a similar machine than the monthly payments of purchasing.
In fact, the average contractor we speak to is spending roughly $12k/month to rent a midsized mobile crusher. Meanwhile, our mobile crusher range can be purchased for between $1,400 and $4,700 per month (plus you actually own the machine).
So really the choice is simple: pay to dispose of your old concrete OR recycle and reuse the product, saving money on material purchasing costs or selling the recycled aggregate and adding an additional revenue stream to your business.
Where to start with crushing and recycling concrete
So you think recycling concrete sounds like a good option for your business? It could save or even make your business a lot of money!
Great! Why wouldn't you want to recycle concrete with all the obvious financial benefits? By recycling concrete, we can generate a new income stream within a business, reduce its costs, and at the same time upcycle old products that would normally be disposed of.
Firstly, you'll need access to a consistent supply of old concrete to crush. If you run a paving or demolition company, this should be no problem at all, as you're likely already breaking pavements or structures every week.
Once you have a consistent flow of material to recycle, it's just a matter of matching up your needs with a crusher that's going to save you money and hopefully make you some too.
That's where Machinery Partner comes in to play. We have a team of highly experienced experts in concrete processing and recycling, alongside a huge range of equipment to match every budget and use case.
If you want to get started with recycling concrete, reach out today to speak directly with one of our material experts about your business and material application.
