The Cement and Concrete industries have a unique ability to transform many residues into useful materials. Our manufacturing processes allow us to become a waste consumer that can actively and simultaneously contribute to both reducing our CO₂ emissions and building a circular economy through partnerships with other industries, authorities, and communities. Our objective is to maximise the use of societies and other industries’ non-recyclable waste and by-products.

Two of our sites in Cemex UK are positively contributing to the circular economy by using recycled sand, recovered from excavated waste. This is then reused, with our customer’s permission, for road fill and other Concrete mixes.

Let’s find out more about these two plants:

Hereford Readymix plant

Hereford Readymix plant has been using recycled sand for several years and was at the forefront of this process. Hereford quarries, our landlord at Hereford Readymix plant, have a soil washing plant where they process excavated waste to recover the aggregate content – the recycled sand is then purchased by Cemex and reused, on the same site, requiring zero transportation by trucks and therefore reducing the overall output of CO₂ from the process.

Where customers consent, nominal mixes are produce using recycled sand, ranging from 100% usage to 50-50 with normal sand depending on mix and consistency. At Hereford Readymix plant, so far this year, approximately 600t of recycled sand has been used, equivalent to 25% of sand used on the plant to produce concrete mixes.

Builth Wells Readymix plant

Builth Wells Readymix plant specialises in liquid screed and has been using recycled sand for almost 12 months. The plant recently supplied 200m3 of Concrete for a road fill job – used to fill service trenches in the road. With the customer consent the plant were able to produce this product using 100% recycled sand. Due to the plant’s location, it is more cost effect to import recycled sand as it comes from half the distance of that from the normal Sand quarry.  Not only does Cemex make an increased margin over the use of the normal sand, by only requiring half the haulage by trucks but this also results in 50% less trucks on the road, and 50% les CO₂ being produced.

By growing the use of recycled sand, both sites are positively contributing to Cemex’s Future in Action goals to become net-zero CO₂ by 2050.