Everyone loves concrete because of its usefulness and strength. It is in so many buildings and infrastructure. The only problem is that is can have some negative environmental impacts if used without restraint. When mixing concrete, you can mix in other materials to reduce the amount of concrete used. Here are 5 examples of things you can use in place of concrete.
- Plastic Waste: You can mix in some plastic waste into concrete. The alternative would be to use more concrete and have more plastic in landfills but mixing in plastic waste can help the environment on both of these fronts.
- Concrete Debris: When concrete gets removed, all the pieces are taken and often taken to a landfill. Using concrete debris can directly recycle it and allow it to be used again in more concrete structures.
- Blast Furnace Slag: Blast furnace slag is the excess product that is created from running a blast furnace. Since it is technically a waste material, it is perfect to be thrown into the cement to make the cement stronger and go farther on less cement.
- Glass: Just like all of the above things, glass can be recycled by being added to concrete. This gives concrete a particular look that can change depending on how it is done, so be wary when designing with glass and concrete mixed.
- Fibrous Concrete: Wastepaper can be added to concrete to reduce the environmental impact that concrete has when drying. And with all the other materials, wastepaper can be recycled this way.
There are many cool and fun ways to reduce the amount of concrete used, as well as find a use for otherwise useless materials. Be on the lookout for different ways manufacturers are able to produce concrete more sustainably.
