Alternative Ceramic Supply


Materials
  1. Brick Rubble
  2. Granite Offcuts
  3. Dolerite Offcuts
  4. Broken Bisque
  5. Concrete Rubble
  6. Glass Sludge
  7. Wood Ash
  8. Bone Ash
  9. Marble Offcuts
  10. Oyster Shells


Bulk Buy
Ground Works


Info
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      5. Concrete Rubble


      Test tiles exploring second-life granite in ceramics, fired to midfire (cone 6, left) and stoneware (cone 9, right). Rows show granite at three mesh sizes (super fine, fine, coarse); columns test it in clay bodies (5% and 20%),  the material alone on the surface (applied with CMC), and in glaze (+30%).

      FIRST LIFE  

                  ORIGINUnknown. Assumed from various sites around Melbourne and Victoria

                 MEASUREMENTSScreened product is mostly round pieces, 20mm max diameter 

                 COLOURMostly grey and brown
                 TEXTUREPowdery, coarse

                FINISH / FEATURESMixed materials in every batch containing a variety of rocks and aggregates with different characteristics

      SECOND LIFE 

                 COLLECTION LOCATION Industrial-scale concrete recycling facility
      -37.807825896354174, 144.83574994112593

                  DATE OF COLLECTION
      August 2023

                  SUBURBBrooklyn 

                  COUNTRYWurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Boonwurrung 

                  LOCAL COUNCILCity of Brimbank


      MATERIAL INFORMATION

                 COMPOSITION Cured concrete may consist of roughly 7-15% cement and the remainder is aggregates (fine/sand roughly 30-45%, and coarse/rocks 40-60%). Portland cement is made up of four main compounds: tricalcium silicate (3CaO · SiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaO · SiO2), tricalcium aluminate (3CaO · Al2O3), and a tetra-calcium aluminoferrite (4CaO · Al2O3Fe2O3).

      POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

                 SUBSITUTE FOR
      Trachyte
      Ilmenite
      Source of iron, silica, magnesium
                 IN CLAY BODYDark brown / black melted grog
      Use for colour and texture additions

                 IN GLAZE      Use powder in glaze as colourant and fluxing agent

      PREPARATION

                 CALCINATION
      Not essential. Useful to calcine at 1000°C if you want to separate rocks from lime. 

                 CUSTOM PREPARATION
      Pick out any oragnic matter (timber) and plastic.
      Depending on your desired outcome, separate materials or leave as one batch. 
                 MINIUMUM REQURIED EQUIPMENT
      Calcination makes cement component easily crushable (in your hands).
      Hammer

                 RATING(Scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being hardest)
      Pre-calcining = 5
      After calcining = 3

                 NOTES
      Small size (20mm) makes crushing with hammer fairly easy

      SAFETY &
      HANDLING

                 HAZARDS
      Silica dust
      Unknown other hazards - take all precautions

                 SUGGESTED PPE
      Respirator
      Gloves

      SOURCING

                 SEARCHING FOR SUPPLY
      Contact builders, construction and demolition companies. 
      Check skip bins accessible from the street. 
      Look for scaffolding and construction fencing along streets, and check the building permit for a phone number if noone is on site. 
      If a larger company: contact sustainability team/person

                 WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU
      Bucket or container
      Gloves
      Steel capped boots
      PPE specific to construction site (potentially high-vis vest and hard hat)
                 QUESTIONS TO ASK
      If on construction site:
      Is there any reuse plan for any concrete rubble currently on site? 
      Has a geotech consultant been engaged? Have any soil tests been run?
      Is there a heritage report?
      If in recycling facility:
      Have any toxicity or heavy metal reports been run?
      Ask if there's any information on the origin
                 RECYCLABILITY AS-IS
      Civil/Infrastructure
      • Road base and fill

                 COLLECTION RECOMMENDATIONS
      Separate out from mixed waste by hand where possible.