Recycling of Natural Stones, Management and Benefits 

At this juncture of our planet’s time and at the present scenario of natural resources, taking into account the volume of the traded resources, keeping track of the pace the stone and another natural resource Industry is gaining, alarmingly watching environmental pollutions peaking on their seats, it becomes more than inevitable to halt the wasting of natural stones and minerals. When it means managing the wastes, it obviously means recycling and reusing them. The planet has suffered enough by giving all its resources, also by receiving pollution-inflicted mismanagement of man and his sciences. It very much is on the brink of becoming like a malnourished mother because of overfeeding her children.

Ever since the discovery of natural resources, there have been researches and inventions unsurmountable about their usage and it is inexcusable that’s there have not been enough studies for conservation, management, and recycling of the wasted resources of nature. The world has woken up very late, in the 2010s to this cause and it is a cry from all comrades that it needs a looking into.

The countries with a developed stone industry pose, both environmental and economic problems.

The utilization of stone waste is still under researches, but there are some studies to suggest to us the effect of the characteristics of stones on the stabilization of the soil.

If you grow with science strategically, some studies suggest knowing the efficiency of the waste calcitic marble, dolomitic marble, and granite powder as an addition for the stabilization of clayey soil.

The common waste management propaganda is to achieve a balance in the usage of natural resources. Waste produced in one area is reused either within the same area or in another, in another industry for another purpose, such as soil stabilization, concrete aggregate source, new and binding materials.

Stabilization of Soil

To ensure the sustainability of geotechnical and building construction, it is essential to use production waste, as well as to create new sources of materials. Materials obtained by conventional methods are not sufficient to satisfy the new demands. Hence, use production waste.

Eliminating the negative impacts of waste and obtaining economic benefits from the waste degrees of sources is the proposed formula. All the chemical additives used to stabilize expansive soil have cementation properties. Cementitious materials stabilize clayey soils and modify their properties through cation, exchange, flocculation, agglomeration and pozzolanic reactions. In addition, cement provides hydration products that increase the strength of base materials of the soil, as well as enhance the performance of the treatment. The pozzolanic reaction is a secondary process of soil stabilization. One prerequisite for the formation of additional cementing materials is the solution of silica and alumina from clay components.

Knowing which natural stone waste to use for the stabilization process and in what amount, will ensure the controlled use of non-renewable resources and offer a way for the construction industry to meet its demands for materials. For example, when the soil on which buildings, highways, airports, dams, tunnels, etc, are to be built, is soft or loose or expansive, the best solution is to stabilize to improve the soil condition. Thus, improving the soil bearing capacity and consolidation of clayey soil, seepage properties of materials used in dam construction, cut-off walls and blankets offer enhanced results. Acknowledgment of reference used from study material submitted by Osman Sivrikaye-Konya R. Kiyildi-Zelig Karate.

Recycling dimension Stones

This kind of recycling occurs when structures are demolished and recycling construction aggregate in the form of concrete- represents the largest volumes of recycled construction materials. Not too many constructions involve dimensions stones and even fewer of them are worth saving.

Professionalism in recycling

There is not any organized national or regional trade in reclaimed stone. So it involves personal, social and environmental responsibilities and care. But, there are specialists who do stone recycling. They look out for stone-containing houses, buildings, bridge abutments and dimension stones structures that are scheduled for demolition. Particularly, they look for treasure, old hand-carved stone pieces with chisel marks, still on them. Also, local stones are no longer quarried or are quarried in different shades or appearances. Recycled dimension stone is used in old stone buildings being renovated -to replace deteriorated stone pieces, in fireplace mantels, benches, veneer, or for landscaping like retaining walls.

Deconstruction

Related to stone recycling and stone reuse is the deconstruction and reconstruction of stone buildings. The building is taken apart, block by block, and the location and orientation of each block are carefully rated. The roofing slates and interior stones in place are cataloged and moved in the same fashion. Then, the reassembling of the building happens in such a way that the removed blocks and parts are put back in place how and where originally they were. This is typically expensive and rare, but valuable in terms of historic preservation.

Dimension stone is also reused. Buildings immediately spring to mind, but certain things as ornate stone walls, arches, stairways, and balustrades alongside a boulevard can also be renovated and used. In some cases, old interiors are kept as it is after repair.

Old stonework will need attention too. They usually need only cleaning and sandblasting, but some cases may need more. Firstly, the exteriors need inspections for usage unsafe conditions, like the walls for water leakages. The most likely needs are mortar restoration replacing deteriorated pieces, beyond point of repair. Repointing is the removal of existing damaged mortar from the outer portion of the joint between stone units and its replacement by new mortar matching the appearance of the old. The consolidates re-establish the original natural bonding between stone particles that weathering had removed. Exterior dimension stones often fade after exposure to weather o er time and it is not possible, at times to find an exact match, even from the original quarry.

Life-cycle assessment and best practices

As in every economic sector, the construction industry’s purchases of materials and services create a whole chain of processes from raw material; selecting situ, removal from the earth, proceeding to cut, finishing then transport and retailing. All of these activities have significant upstream environmental impacts, whether in terms of energy and raw resource use or emissions to air, land, or water impacting living organisms or the Earth’s surface.

Life cycle assessment is a method for Sri mating and comparing a range of environmental performance measures, (eg. Global warming, acidification potential, toxicity, ozone depletion potential) over the full life cycle of a product or a whole building. As such, it provides a comprehensive means for evaluating and comparing products rather than prescriptive measures of individual product characteristics.

Visiting sites of councils like ASTM and NSC give us the set or relevant standards and guidelines on environmental life cycle assessment of building/material/products, etc.

The natural stone council also commissioned four best practices;

1. On water consumption, treatment and reuse while extracting and processing dimension stones, including dust mitigation, sludge management, and maximizing water recycling.
2. On-site maintenance and quarry closures including minimizing dust, noise, vibration, and keeping operations clean and tidy that help restore the surface upon quarry closure.
3. On solid waste management includes over-burden, damaged stones unsaleable as product, sludge, spent or spilled petroleum products, or metal scraps.
4. On efficiently transporting stones to finished as products, transporting products to consumers by centralizing freight management, consolidating loads, choosing vehicles, and packaging with sustainable materials.

Benefits of Recycling

In its strictest sense, recycling of s material would produce a fresh supply of the same material. Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of Waste Hierarchy

• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle

Thus, it aims at environmental sustainability by substituting raw material inputs into and redirecting waste outputs out of the economic system. It is an alternative to conventional waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Potentially useful and rare materials are better managed and energy usage is minimized.

Learn more about how work-tops is contributing to stone management with our remnant program

Also, check out our remnant product collection and find seller details here.