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Recycled Products

What are recycled products?

Recycled products and aggregates are building materials such as gravel and sand that have been repurposed from construction, demolition and excavation waste. They have a wide range of uses across a variety of construction applications.

To extract the valuable materials from construction, demolition and excavation waste, it goes through our state-of-the-art recycling plant which uses a wet-processing system to recover the materials. The plant removes metal, plastic and organic matter and processes the rest of the waste by washing, screening and separating it using a range of technologies. The end result is a high-quality recycled product which can be repurposed back into the construction industry.

Why are recycled products Important?

The construction industry is responsible for over 50% of Scotland’s total waste arisings, over 50% of natural resource consumption and over 40% of its carbon emissions, while accounting for only 6% of GDP. Our mission is to shift the way the industry consumes natural resources and handles its waste, moving from a linear take, make, waste model to a sustainable circular model.

Recycled aggregates have a far smaller carbon footprint than their virgin equivalents. They are also responsible for diverting several million tonnes of waste from landfill each year. Our customers have diverted over 1 million tonnes of waste from landfill and given it a new life as recycled aggregate.

If we keep consuming resources the way we do currently then we will run out. For example, the second largest consumer resource in the world, sand, is predicted to be exhausted by 2050. To build for the future, we must adapt and innovate towards achieving a circular economy – designing out waste, extending the life cycle of materials and repurposing waste. Recycled aggregates are a solution to the biggest issue facing the construction industry. They are not an alternative or a compromise.

How do we produce our recycled aggregates

epd

Brewster Brothers are the first aggregates producer in the UK to achieve an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for recycled aggregates. This has been independently verified by BRE Group. The impact of our EPD on our customers and the main contractors in their supply chains is that you now have access to accurate and transparent environmental impact data for your sustainability reporting.

Using the results from the EPD, we can provide you with accurate carbon savings for using our recycled aggregates versus the average for both virgin and other recycled aggregates according to the UK Government’s indices. Use our brand new Carbon Calculator to find out about the carbon you could save using our products.

How do we produce our recycled products?

We take construction, demolition and excavation waste and process it through our state-of-the-art recycling plant to extract high-quality recycled aggregate, including sharp and soft sand, 4-10mm gravel, 10-20mm gravel and 20-40mm gravel which can be used as they are or blended to make other products. Find out more about our recycling process on our process page.

Environmental Management

All of our washed products larger than 0-4mm are compliant to BS EN 13242 which is the standard for pipe bedding for fine and coarse aggregate and BS EN 12620 which is the standard for aggregate in concrete.

Applications and uses for recycled products

Recycled aggregates are a solution to dwindling virgin deposits, not a compromise. Our two types of sand are ideal for concrete production, cable laying, slab laying and can even be blended as fines to create Type 1. Our three types of gravel can be used for pipe bedding, block production, drainage and concrete production. To find out the specific uses for each product, check the uses and applications section on the product pages.