Making concrete production sustainable

Gravel excavated from a residential construction project has been repurposed into concrete in a bid to make concrete production more sustainable.

Once finished, the site will provide 138 apartments and 28 terraced houses to the area. (Photo: Bauer Environment)

The project, carried out in the district of Kirchheim near Munich saw tons of gravel excavated by Bauer Environment, a subsidiary of Bauer Resources GmbH.

To excavate the gravel, Bauer Environment dug an excavation pit and set up several storage areas on site ready for the gravel to be stored. Burc Akker, site manager from the Bauer Environment division, said, “Especially when a project is realised in just eight weeks, every move has to be planned.”

Once the pit and storage were in place, the construction services company were able to excavate the pit to a level of 3m. The company then transported 33,000m³ incurred gravel to a nearby gravel plant where it was processed into concrete. On completion of the excavation, Bauer secured the pit with a girder wall.

According to Bauer, which also provides services in drilling, environmental technology, plant sewage treatment plants and mining and rehabilitation, the reuse of the gravel ensures that the project developed a circular economy use and provided sustainable contribution.

It is reported that Germany produces 27.5 million tonnes of concrete every year. Bauer believe that by developing this strategy, concrete production in the country could become more sustainable. The most common method of concrete production is to mix portland cement with water to make a paste, which is then added to various aggregates such as sand or stone.

The construction of the residential quarter is now underway and will provide 138 apartments and 28 terraced houses to the area.