A Better Way To Recycle On-Site
June 2008Cavaliere Onsite Recycling is using compact crushers to keep up with high demand in a unique niche market.
As the green movement marches along, recycling—whether it is aluminum cans, newspapers, or plastic bottles—continues to grow in popularity in the United States and around the globe. Surprisingly, the most widely recycled product in terms of both percentage and tonnage is actually asphalt pavement, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association. A recent report issued by the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that 80 percent of the asphalt pavement that is removed each year during widening and resurfacing projects in the United States is reused as part of new roads, roadbeds, shoulders, and embankments.1
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D.J. Cavaliere of Cavaliere Onsite Recycling in Stamford, Connecticut, is a believer. He and his brother Louis Cavaliere have found a niche recycling market that has proved to be very lucrative: recycling asphalt and concrete on jobsites using their Rubble Master RM80 Compact Recycler in especially tight spaces. The smaller machine can fit into smaller jobsites, or bigger sites with more congested spaces, and the demand for this type of work is growing. Recent projects for Cavaliere Onsite Recycling include recycling reject at a brick manufacturing facility, and excavating an existing state road then recycling the concrete and asphalt on the site. Because of the types of projects the company was taking on, especially one that was on a large site but in a tight and congested area, D.J. Cavaliere began researching compact recyclers a few years ago. He needed to find a crusher that could produce a ¾-inch minus product on a small scale. An Internet search led him to the Rubble Master Compact Recycler Web site at www.rubblemaster.com. After researching the site, Cavaliere got in touch with the company and visited a jobsite to see the equipment at work. He then returned to Connecticut and made some phone calls. He eventually was so sold on the product that he became a dealer, in addition to his excavation, milling, paving, and recycling business.
Using the RM80, Cavaliere has found success on many projects, including the recent demolition of a Shaw’s Supermarket and the development of a new Walgreens on that site in New Canaan, Connecticut. The supermarket was an existing 24,000-square-foot building with a full basement made of reinforced concrete. Cavaliere recycled about 800 tons of both asphalt and concrete in a yard that was less than 40 feet wide and less than 200 feet long in just 1 day. The space was extremely small, which presented a challenge, but the machine was impressive. Cavaliere Industries, Inc., was the general contractor for the 1-day, in-and-out project.
The first thing they did was to reclaim all of the existing blacktop in the parking lots. Then they stripped the building, including all of the wood, non-aggregate, and steel. They demolished the building and took up the concrete footings, foundations, and floors. Cavaliere Onsite Recycling crushed and recycled all of that. They did all of the site excavation and worked on the drainage and utilities, installing 11 catch basins and building six to seven manholes; recycled all of the on-site rock and waste; and even processed and paved the lot with hot-mix asphalt when they were done.
The recycled material from such projects is used for structural fill and state-approved process at ¾-inch minus. Cavaliere notes that the company has been getting quite a bit of business for the RM80 from New York City to Boston, Massachusetts, because it is small and fills a niche in the market. They use everything, including all the concrete, asphalt, and existing stone that was excavated. “No rubble left the site, basically,” says Cavaliere.
“People don’t want a big machine to have to come in just to move a load. It costs them a lot just to do that job alone,” Cavaliere explains. “We get the production of the big machine in a smaller package. That’s appealing, because we can do in a day what most guys aren’t willing to do in that short amount of time. Companies with larger crushers prefer 5 days or more.”
Recycling: A Win-Win
Using a compact recycler can add value to a business by offering a cost-effective way to process and dispose of waste building materials in small to medium or even large quantities. Compact recyclers are easy to operate and transport, and they reduce noise and dust emissions. Cavaliere says the machine is transported on a regular, low-bed trailer (the same way a backhoe or paver would be moved).
With a typical crusher, the machine itself is 50 to 60 feet long. To do a recycling job, an excavator is required behind the crusher on a pile to load it. Plus, the finished product takes up a lot of space, so the whole area could include 90 to 100 feet of space. In contrast, the machine Cavaliere uses works within a 40- to 60-foot area. It is not a wide load, and it is a smaller and shorter machine, loaded. Rather than requiring an excavator to load it, the compact recycler can be loaded with a 1-yard backhoe.
“We’re really looking to the future,” says Cavaliere. “I think these machines fill a niche market.”
Big Benefits With Compact Crushers
According to www.rubblemaster.com, contractors can realize massive cost savings due to the mobility of compact recyclers. On-site operation saves time, fuel, and toll charges. Reusing the material on-site cancels out unnecessary transport and dumping fees, and the maneuverability of compact recyclers with crawler gear is particularly useful at urban sites or in remote locations.
Crushing and recycling on the jobsite also has a positive environmental impact. In addition to the obvious benefits of recycling the building materials, these smaller crushers offer reduced emissions on the site compared to larger models. As Cavaliere has found, using a compact crusher increases the number of jobs a contractor is able to bid for and win.
Cavaliere expects his business to crush on 60 to 80 different sites this season, which runs from March to November. It also performs road milling, from interstates to side streets and parking lots, all across the Northeastern United States.
“The best part is being able to recycle your own waste,” says Cavaliere. “There are smaller models than the one we use. Almost everyone can own a recycler, and they don’t even know it. If they’re spending money to crush and dispose of building materials, then they can afford to have one.”
He adds, “For us, the compact recycler is definitely worth the investment. For the amount of solid material and waste we produce, it just makes sense for our business.”
1 www.hotmix.org/recycling.php
For More Information:
Cavaliere Onsite Recycling has the capability to crush and recycle rock, concrete, asphalt, block, and brick into a usable 3/4-inch minus product. For more information, please call 203.569.0339, visit www.cavaliereonsite.com, or visit www.rubblemaster.com.
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