Materials efficiency and recycling

Use of recycled asphalt continues to rise

The amount of recycled asphalt planings (RAP) used in new asphalt mixes has increased by 64% since 2014. The average RAP content increased to nearly 10 per cent in 2015 and continues to rise.

Mixing crushed road waste into asphalt makes sense for customers, the environment and the business. It means less virgin aggregate and bitumen are needed, and waste to landfill is reduced. The UK specification allows up to 50 per cent RAP in various asphalt products and we continue to develop new techniques to increase the content in our mixes.

There was also an increase in by-products or waste used in cement production – typically pulverised fuel ash and gypsum – although the amount of recycled aggregate used in concrete fell slightly.

The cement replacement Regen (ground granulated blastfurnace slag) reduces embodied CO₂ in concrete and provides a number of other benefits. Its use in ready-mixed concrete means we have one of the highest cement replacement rates in the UK market. We are working towards our target of 45 per cent cement replacement by 2020 and are developing mixes with higher Regen content as well as communicating the CO₂ benefits of these products to customers.

Recycled and secondary materials data

Recycled and secondary materials
	2010 (baseline)	2013	2014	2015	Definition
By-products or waste used as raw material in cement	5.31	6.43	7.52	8.31	Alternative materials as a % of total cement production
Aggregates recycled and sold	1.63	1.31	1.43	1.50	% of total sales
Recycled aggregates in asphalt	2.88	4.54	5.63	9.23	% of recycled aggregate used in asphalt
Recycled aggregates in concrete	0.08	0.62	0.18	0.16	% of recycled aggregate used in ready-mixed concrete
Sites which recover surplus concrete	65	99	99	97	Sites recovering over 50% of process waste (inc third party recycling)
Cement replacements in concrete (Regen, PFA)	38.43	37.47	37.19	37.04	% of cement substitutes in ready-mixed concrete

 

Targets: Increase cement replacements in concrete to 45 per cent; recycled aggregate in asphalt (excluding filler dust) to 10 per cent and concrete plants recycling surplus concrete to 95 per cent - all by 2020.