Facts and Figures


Concrete’s versatility, durability, and economy have made it the world’s most used construction material. The U.S. uses about 340 million cubic yards (260 million cubic meters) of ready-mixed concrete each year. It is used in highways, streets, parking lots, parking garages, bridges, high-rise buildings, dams, homes, floors, decks, sidewalks, driveways, and numerous other applications. (http://www.cement.org/tech/)


There are two byproducts generated by the concrete and construction industry as a result of all the ready-mixed concrete used; concrete washout or waste and washwater.  In order to emphasize the volume of byproducts generated every year by the construction industry, we have compiled the estimated figures below which put into perspective the magnitude of this problem and the impact of improper containment measures and lack of recycling efforts on jobsites nationwide.


Ready Mix Trucks

  • 34 Million Truck Loads per year (10 cubic yards per truck)
  • 2.16 Million Cubic Yards of concrete material left on chutes (1/16 yard left on chutes)
  • 4.32 Million Tons of concrete material left on chutes (1 yard weighs 2 Tons)
  • 240 Million Gallons of concrete washwater generated (7 gallons of water per truck chute)

Concrete Pumps
  • 1.36 million Pumps per year (based on avg. 250 yard pour)
  • 68 million Gallons of concrete washwater generated (50 gallons of water per pump)
  • 340,000 Cubic Yards of concrete material left in pump hoppers (1/4 yard per pump)
  • 680,000 Tons of concrete material left in pump hoppers ( 1/4 yard per pump)


Totals

  • 308 million gallons of washwater generated from truck and pump washout
  • 2.5 million cubic yards of concrete washout material
  • 5 million tons of concrete washout material


Trivia

The amount of concrete washout material and washwater generated each year accumulates to:

  • 34 times more concrete than was used to build the Sears Tower in Chicago (2 million cubic feet/72,000 cubic yards), the worlds tallest building until 1996 or,
  • enough concrete to build an 8-lane freeway system 175 miles long or,
  • nearly ¾ the amount of concrete used to construct the entire Hoover Dam
  • Enough water to provide a city of 50,000 for nearly three months



*All figures are approximate and for informational purposes only.