Michigan State University (MSU) has found a way to make new construction on campus less expensive and easier on the environment. The utilization of the 6,000 tons of recycled concrete for on-campus projects has saved the university approximately $30,000, as well as salvage old material from landfills.
“A lot of energy is expended to produce concrete,” says
MSU Physical Plant Division Landscape Construction Manager Adam S. Lawver. “Being able to repurpose the material in a different function than it was originally intended as a subbase material just makes sense economically and environmentally.”
Before recycling their own concrete, MSU had purchased recycled concrete from an outside vendor to use as subbase material. At the MSU Physical Plant, a new operation that procures large quantities of construction materials has provided the staffing and facility needed to recycle the used concrete.
“In the past,” says Lawver, “the concrete sidewalks and curbs that we paid to be installed on campus, and paid to have them demolished, were just hauled off campus. We had already paid for this asset, but had no way of capitalizing on reusing it in a different purpose until now.”
The recycling process involves putting the old concrete through a grinder and removing embedded metal through the use of a magnetic conveyer belt. The crushed concrete is then smashed into various sizes, making it ready for use.
The recycled material is being used on a number of campus construction projects, primarily as a subbase beneath concrete sidewalks and asphalt parking lots.
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