Charah adds Ohio capacity in five-year ash management contract

Sources: Charah Solutions Inc., Louisville, Ky.; CP staff Charah Solutions has been awarded a five-year sales and marketing contract for the beneficial recycling of fly ash from the Buckeye State’s largest coal-fired power operation: the two-unit, 2,665-megawatt Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant in Cheshire, Ohio. The contract will net an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 tons of specification-grade Class F…

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Fly ash use in concrete up slightly; overall ash recycling rate down

Source: American Coal Ash Association, Farmington Hills, Mich.  Fifty-two percent of the coal ash produced during 2019 was recycled, marking the fifth consecutive year that more than half of the power generating station byproduct in the United States was beneficially used rather than disposed. The volume of fly ash used in concrete, 12.6 million tons, marks a 1 percent increase…

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Utility weighs 2 million ton fly ash processing project

Sources: Georgia Power, Atlanta; CP staff

Georgia Power is reviewing beneficial reuse prospects for upwards of 2 million tons of coal ash at Plant Mitchell, a retired generating station near Albany, Ga. A forthcoming contract will mark the first time in the state where coal combustion residuals from existing ponds are excavated and converted to ASTM C 618-grade fly ash.

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EPA taps public, private channel toward Water Reuse Action Plan

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

A new EPA initiative aims to leverage industry and government expertise to ensure the effective use of the nation’s water resources. “[They] are the lifeblood of our communities, and the federal government has the responsibility to ensure all Americans have access to reliable sources of clean and safe water,” says Assistant Administrator for Water David Ross. “There is innovative work happening across the sector to advance water reuse, and the EPA wants to accelerate that work through coordinated federal leadership.”

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Coal ash recycling reaches record rate as production, use patterns shift

Sources: American Coal Ash Association, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP Staff

Sixty-four percent of the coal ash produced during 2017 was recycled, establishing a new record rate and marking the third consecutive year that more than half of such material produced in the United States was beneficially used rather than disposed.

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Sustainability watchdog sets concrete production water accounting standards

The Cement Sustainability Initiative has capped a two-year effort to formalize accounting of water consumption and recycling in cement, concrete and aggregate production. The new 34-page Guidance on Good Practices for Water Accounting builds on Protocol for Water Reporting for the Cement Industry (2014) and Water Key Performance Indicators (2015).

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NPCA 2015 Sustainability Awards call for entries

Source: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.

NPCA is accepting through December 15 entries for the 2015 Sustainability Awards, spotlighting achievements producer and associate members have realized in projects or plant operation practices, including energy and water management; recycling, product waste reduction and packaging optimization; substitution of non-renewable materials; vehicle efficiency; biodiversity and conservation; employee training or social support programs; supply chain initiatives; and, Environmental Product Declaration preparation.

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Reclaiming Revisited

Improving market conditions, land-locked sister properties, plus safety and environmental factors have spurred an upgrade of Graniterock’s Redwood City Building Materials property, one of the company’s two integrated ready mixed, asphalt and recycling plants serving Silicon Valley. The Redwood City site sources aggregate by rail from the Graniterock Aromas quarry, about 75 miles south.

Continuous improvement of processes and people is long-standing in the ready mixed concrete, aggregate, recycling and road-building businesses of Watsonville, Calif.-based Graniterock. The practice also applies to property, as demonstrated at the Redwood City Building Materials site, where the producer is revisiting a) returned concrete and truck washout handling methods sidelined since the late 1990s and, b) space utilization on a limited footprint. 

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Regulatory Uncertainty Drives Coal Ash Recycling To Fourth Straight Year Of Decline

Coal ash recycling in the U.S. was off 4.7 million tons in 2012 against the prior year, according to the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) “Production and Use Survey” released last month. Ash utilization has stalled after nearly a decade of growth of a practice that conserves energy and natural resources, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and safely keeps ash out of landfills and disposal ponds.

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Life-cycle data specialist takes helm at CSHub

Jeremy

An engineer who studies materials’ economic and environmental implications, recycling and end-of-life recovery, Jeremy Gregory has been named executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), succeeding Hamlin Jennings.

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