Aggregates typically do not travel very far. The average distance, largely due to economic factors, that trucks can carry aggregates over the road is 50 miles—thus making aggregates the ultimate local product. However, to conserve resources and reach more customers Summit Materials also uses barges and railroads at operating locations with those services available. For example, Mainland Construction Services ships about 65% their aggregates via barge and rail car.
Summit Materials is committed to sustainability throughout all lines of business, including services. Our various locations used approximately 780,000 tons of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) in 2017. In addition to using RAP and RAS to reduce the amount of virgin materials used, Summit Materials reuses nearly 400,000 tons of recycled concrete on an annual basis. Furthermore, Summit reduces its energy consumption at its cement plant by more than 30% by operating a hazardous waste disposal site at our operating company, Continental Cement Company (CCC) CCC, through its subsidiary, Green America Recycling (GAR). GAR is one of a handful of companies that is licensed to burn hazardous materials in the United States. This process is a sustainable and safe way to dispose of these chemicals so that they do not end up in landfills and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Additionally, our operating company Hamm, operates a recycling center in Lawrence, Kansas that saved approximately 9,970 tons of material from landfills in 2017. Hamm also installed a methane gas capture system at their landfill (methane gas is a normal byproduct of decomposing trash). The plant is expected to produce more than 4 million tons of fuel annually by capturing and cleaning the methane gas. Please read more about our commitment to recycling in the sustainability portion of our website.
