Calgary plant showcases the evolution of construction waste

Apr 16, 2024

Construction waste recycling in Alberta has gotten a 600,000 ton boost thanks to a new plant built by CDE and Calgary Aggregate Recycling Inc. (CAR).

The plant, located at CAR’s southeast Calgary recycling facility, will be the site of an open house hosted on Sept. 7 for members of the industry to see how the two companies are evolving “out-of-date” practices when it comes to construction and demolition waste, said Travis Powell, president of CAR.

“We set out to establish economic and viable solutions to position Alberta as a leader in sustainable and responsible construction. We started this process by applying for a grant with Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA). It believed in the impact our proposal could have and gave us the start we needed to get where we are today,” Powell said in a case study about the new plant.

He said the creation of the plant represents a three-pronged win for the construction industry in Calgary.

Construction materials account for some of the largest sources of waste in the world. Through washing, companies like CAR and CDE divert potential construction waste such as sand and aggregates from landfills by removing contaminants and making the materials viable for continued use, thus activating the idea of the circular economy.

CAR commissioned CDE to design and engineer a 250 tonnes per hour washing solution. The technological boost has enabled CAR to produce more than 1.25 million tonnes of construction sand and aggregate products per year, up from 625,000.

That’s 1.25 million tonnes of waste diverted from landfills every year thanks to washing technology, or the equivalent to the yearly waste of roughly 1.83 million Canadians, according to data from the Government of Canada.

Recycling sand and aggregates doesn’t just divert waste from landfills but can help reduce carbon emissions, according to CDE.

Before the construction of the new plant, CAR was trucking its contaminated soils to a landfill, 350 kilometres round trip, according to the study. CAR’s product also means more companies will be able to acquire aggregates and sand close to home, eliminating more unnecessary transportation costs and emissions.

“Our solutions help to realize sustainability aims by reducing, or completely eliminating, the requirement to truck in sand and aggregate resources from other jurisdictions – an approach that generally comes at a significant environmental cost,” said Adrian Convery, business development manager for Canada with CDE.

According to the study, the plant is expected to reduce carbon emissions in Alberta by 22,567 tonnes per year.

The plant marks the first time CDE and CAR have worked together.

“It’s a partnership that is pioneering better ways of managing resources in Canada, driving forward the agenda for change, and building a strong case for the adoption of recycled materials in the construction industry by highlighting the immense potential of C&D waste streams,” said Convery.

The washing plant is a first-of-its-kind for CAR and consists of an R4500 primary feeding and scalping screen with the M4500 modular sand washing plant, and the AggMaxTM 253R scrubbing and classification system. The AggMaxTM combines pre-screening, organics removal, sizing, stockpiling, scrubbing, fines recovery and filtrates removal on a compact chassis, according to the study.

The plant also contains a modular sand washing system: CDE’s EvoWashTM. The EvoWash uses an integrated high-frequency dewatering screen and hydrocyclone technology to screen and separate smaller sand and gravel fractions.

The plant also has the capacity to recycle up to 95 per cent of the water used to wash the material through the CDE AquaCycleTM and a Filter Press sludge dewatering system.

Those interested in learning more can register for the open house at cdegroup.com/calgary.

“It is a pleasure to host this open house event with our partners at CDE to showcase this impressive facility that its team has delivered and to highlight the benefits of waste recycling,” said Powell.