How You Can Reduce Concrete’s Environmental Impact

As the most widely used manufactured material on the planet, concrete has a substantial environmental impact. Unfortunately, cement production alone generates around 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year - about 8% of the global total. However, the good news is that’s there’s several things we can do to reduce concrete’s environmental impact. Read on to find out everything you need to know.

Cement conservation

The primary step to reducing concrete’s impact on the environment is cement conservation. This will decrease both energy utilisation and greenhouse gas emissions. The use of typical Portland cement should be decreased. Instead, cement being made with pozzolanic materials should be prioritised - for example, replacing cement with slag or fly ash by 50% will provide more durable products.

Aggregate conservation

Billions of tons of concrete and masonry rubble are produced per year and yet only a small amount of concrete and masonry waste are reused again. This is why environmental experts have implored European countries to set short term goals to recycle between 50 to 90% of demolition and construction waste.

In North America, Japan, and Europe, around two thirds of construction and demolition waste are composed of old broken concrete and masonry. Therefore, if these waste materials are reused as a coarse aggregate, material productivity will improve greatly. Additionally, dredge sand and mining waste which are present in a number of countries around the world can be processed and applied as fine aggregate. Recycling aggregates is a great way to reduce the impact of the concrete industry on the planet.

Water conservation

The availability of fresh, clean water is decreasing and as a result of increasing industrial, agricultural and urban demand for water, water contamination is also on the rise. Therefore, this crucial natural resource should be preserved as much as possible. Concrete manufacturers consume water on a large scale - in fact, concrete production currently accounts for almost 10% of global industrial water use. This figure needs to be drastically reduced, and there’s several things the concrete industry can do:

●     putting in better systems for measuring and monitoring water use

●     aggressively monitoring systems to eliminate leaks

●     optimising mixes to prevent overuse of water

●     minimising the volume of wash water and process water

●     installing reclaimers with agitated tanks and

●     reusing as much reclaimed water as possible

By implementing these changes, the impact of the concrete industry on the environment can be reduced.

If you’re in need of quality concrete products and services, turn to Forth Valley Concrete. From concrete block installation to laying a shed base, there’s no job too big or too small for us. Get in touch today to find out more about what we can do for you.