Look around. Chances are, you're surrounded by concrete. It's in our sidewalks, schools, and homes — it's literally the foundation of our world. We use more of it than anything else on Earth besides water.
But this material has a big, dirty secret: It's one of the planet's biggest sources of pollution.
The problem is how we've always made it. For a long time, we've followed a simple but wasteful "take-make-waste" model.
According to a report from AZoBuild, this affects concrete in a huge way. We take new resources like sand and stone to make concrete and then just send the old stuff to a landfill when a building gets torn down. On top of the waste, research from Princeton University shows that making cement, concrete's key ingredient, is responsible for a staggering 8% of the world's carbon pollution.
But what if we could break that wasteful cycle? A new study published in the journal Materials shows that researchers have figured out how to do it. They've discovered that finely crushed concrete waste can be used to completely replace sand in new mortar. The results are a huge surprise. The recycled material isn't just as good as the original. It's better.
For years, using old concrete was tricky because it's full of tiny cracks that usually make it weaker. Think of it like a sponge: It's porous and less dense. This has always limited how much recycled material could safely be used in new construction. But by carefully controlling the particle size of the crushed waste, the researchers created a recycled sand that was actually stronger than the original. Mortars using the recycled sand were up to 15% stronger than standard ones.
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This isn't just a small improvement; it's a direct challenge to a massive global issue. As the study in Materials pointed out, "The global economy is facing a significant challenge with its current linear model of production and consumption." This new method offers a way to create a circular system, where old materials are endlessly reused instead of thrown away.
This idea is already being tested in the real world. In Paris, developers have already built the first-ever housing complex using 100% recycled concrete. Other innovators are getting creative, too. Some are adding biochar from farm waste to make concrete stronger, while scientists in Japan have even created a new kind of concrete that traps pollution inside it.
Tackling the waste from a huge industry like construction is a critical step. Our planet is already dealing with massive amounts of pollution, with one recent study revealing our oceans are choking on a "plastic smog" of 170 trillion plastic pieces.
Reducing pollution from major industries is also essential, especially since other potent gases like methane are responsible for a quarter of the planet's current overheating. Finding large-scale solutions like recycled concrete and making smart choices at home with plastic-free options are both key to building a cleaner future.
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