SOURCE: Concrete Products | March 26, 2025
By weight, concrete and asphalt are the most recycled materials in North America. This success is attributed to the technology available to process these materials and the economic viability of the marketplace. Recycling aggregates also aligns with society’s recent calls to decarbonize the transportation and construction sectors, further promoting the practice.
However, success does not come without its challenges. The aggregate recycling industry faces issues such as regulatory barriers and limited markets. The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) was formed more than 30 years ago to address such issues, so supporting the concrete and asphalt recycling is embedded in the group’s DNA.
The association recently formed a task force made up of industry stakeholders to develop a new Aggregates Recycling Committee. This committee aims to unite the industry to discuss common operational issues, end-market barriers, regulatory challenges and to develop and share industry standard specifications, best practices and new technologies. By combining assets, abilities and energies, the committee seeks to promote the value of recycled materials, influence market development, and shape public policy.
Recovering and repurposing end-of-life concrete, pavement and other aggregate-bearing elements is helping to decarbonize the transportation and construction sectors in the United States. It also preserves valuable landfill space, crucial for protecting the environment from wastes that cannot be repurposed. Some of the country’s largest and most reputable operators participated in the Aggregates Recycling Committee developmental call, including Big City Crushed Concrete, Luck Stone, Heidelberg Materials, USA Materials and Posillico, along with key technology providers.
While these companies are large recyclers, representing millions of tons of recycled aggregates annually, the committee also seeks input from and aims to work for smaller entities, such as the contractors, haulers and material recovery facilities who participate in the collection and sorting of source separated and mixed aggregates. Potential topics under consideration for the committee’s first full meeting in April include best practices for operations and maintenance; dust suppression to meet regulatory requirements; the challenges and opportunities of wet processing; the role of environmental product declarations; and, how to leverage successful use cases from one state to influence policy in others. Additionally, collaborating with state departments of transportation on accepting recycled aggregates as road base material is crucial. Despite the long-term, proven economic and environmental benefits of these end products, some states still do not use the material in their road projects.
Beyond traditional aggregates, the committee will explore advancements such as treating and reusing contaminated soils, C&D MRF fines, and waste glass for new construction materials and building products. It will also tackle challenges like the impact of new concrete additives on end-of-life options and whether such materials can be safely reused.
Some of these topics will be covered in a session at C&D World, the Annual Meeting of the CDRA, held from March 11-14 in Dallas. “Concrete Recycling: A 360 View,” will be a moderated discussion on the state of the industry, closing the conference on Thursday, March 13. The following morning, members will be treated to a tour of Big City Crushed Concrete, the largest recycler in Texas. BCCC, an original CDRA member, has pioneered the use of improved recycled concrete products, such as cement-treated base.
CDRA has previously focused committees on specific materials, such as gypsum drywall and asphalt shingles. The successful processes used by those committees to support end markets will be leveraged to promote recycled aggregates. All companies involved in concrete and aggregates recycling are encouraged to join CDRA and participate in this important committee.
Terri Ward is the executive director and CEO of the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association. She can be reached at [email protected] for questions about CDRA membership or participation in its aggregates recycling committee.
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