Adapting and evolving

Aggregates recycling company North American Recycling & Crushing, a subsidiary of Vulcan Materials Co., based in Birmingham, Alabama, was founded in 2018 through the acquisition of Dan Copp Crushing—a 40-year-old California-based concrete recycler.

The addition of these assets expanded Vulcan’s presence in Orange County, California, and the rest of Southern California, according to D.A. Davidson, the advisory firm that assisted with the purchase.

Aaron Waddell, an account manager for North American Recycling & Crushing, says the firm was formed largely because of rising demand for recycled aggregate in the state.

“We’re … in California; it’s a green state, and we just wanted to recycle the concrete and asphalt left over from … construction projects,” he says.

North American Recycling & Crushing operates six portable crushing plants, which consist of primary crushers, secondary crushers, screens and conveyor belts. The company produces roughly 1.9 million tons of recycled aggregate per year, ranking No. 6 on Construction & Demolition Recycling’s 2023 Largest Recycled Aggregate Producers List.

Customers range from large grading and paving companies to small patchwork companies, as well as city and state agencies and private institutions. The company operates solely in Southern California, and projects can include pipeline and trench work and parking lot resurfacing.

“A lot of our [work] is with housing tracts, and we also work with a lot of city and state agencies,” Waddell says.

North American Recycling & Crushing also operates three concrete and asphalt recycling sites in Ontario, Colton and Anaheim, California.

“These guys are pretty well-versed in tearing down the plant, so it’s pretty seamless.” – Aaron Waddell of North American Recycling & Crushing

During its early years, finding customers willing to integrate recycled materials into their operations proved difficult.

“A lot of people … wanted the natural aggregates, and we were providing a product that was cheaper and more readily available, but there was still some kind of, I don’t want to say [lack of] trust, but there was still some hesitation,” Waddell says, noting that organizations such as the Chicago-based Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) promoting the use of recycled aggregate has helped.

Waddell, a member of CDRA’s End Markets Development Committee, adds that his involvement with the association has given him the ability to speak with industry peers and learn from their operations.

Trial and error

North American Recycling & Crushing produces Class II base and miscellaneous base products. In San Diego, it has been making recycled 3/4-inch rock, ³⁄8-inch rock and recycled fill sand.

Across its mobile plants, North American Recycling & Crushing uses a combination of Pioneer jaw crushers from Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Astec Industries Inc.; horizontal shaft impact crushers from Canada-based Böhringer and Omnicone cone crushers from Finland-based Metso to process material; stacking conveyors from Kolberg (a former Astec brand); and various loading equipment from Irving, Texas-based Caterpillar.

Given the nature of mobile crushing, Waddell says challenges often must be overcome, depending on the project, including a site’s size, the weather and transportation logistics.

A primary concern is moving equipment onto and out of a job site, which can sometimes be difficult because of the equipment’s size. Waddell says crews must consider whether the footprint of the site is big enough for the large equipment, if the site has been properly prepared to ensure equipment stability and weather conditions.

“Transporting [between] projects can be a little challenging,” he says. “Let’s say we have to move into a freeway gorge—we could possibly have to shut down the freeway; we have a curfew, so we can only go [for a certain time]; and, then, can we actually get our equipment into the certain location?”

To stay ahead of possible site constraints and tight deadlines, Waddell says North American Recycling & Crushing has a site superintendent to whom crews regularly report. He also credits Fontana, California-based Dalton Trucking, its transportation provider, for communicating potential obstacles during transport or at a site.

In addition to identifying and adjusting to site limitations, Waddell says crews need to use vigilance when processing materials with high steel content.

“We do not have control over the rubble piles that we are crushing for reuse. It may look good on the surface, but when we get into the center of the pile, the volume of steel can really prove problematic for our equipment and production rates,” he says, noting that high metal content in concrete can cause damage to machinery.

North American Recycling & Crushing employs magnets to pull out steel in stockpiles and recycles 100 percent of the steel it reclaims.

Keeping things moving

Waddell says North American Recycling & Crushing employs best practices to protect equipment and ensure successful projects. These include thorough tire maintenance before mobilization of large equipment and trucks, as well as operator training.

The company’s most effective management practice is hiring the most qualified personnel for a job, he says. Hiring through the Local 12 Union of Southern California and Southern Nevada, North American Recycling & Crushing has roughly 30 employees, about 20 of whom work solely for its mobile crushing plants.

Having a well-trained crew can be beneficial not only for crushing operations but also for site mobilization, Waddell says.

“The equipment we have is typically three parts: You have the primary, the secondary, the screen, and then you have all the conveyors. So, what [they] have to do is pull everything apart,” he says. “They’re going to have to undo all the electrical, wrap everything up, close everything up, and some of the conveyor belts are going to have to be taken off of or closed up on a piece of equipment.

“These guys are pretty well-versed in tearing down the plant, so it’s pretty seamless,” he adds. “They tear it down, move it to the next site, set it up; it’s pretty repetitive.”

In North American Recycling & Crushing’s pursuit to expand end markets for recycled aggregate in California, the company has relied heavily on its acquired knowledge, as well as on experience gained since launching the company five years ago.

North American Recycling & Crushing uses its processing operations and industry involvement to create awareness that recycled aggregate is a viable alternative to virgin materials.

Demand for its products is likely to increase as California’s latest C&D legislation, A.B. 2953, was passed in September 2022 and requires local municipalities and other agencies with jurisdiction over streets or highways to allow for the use of recycled materials in new or repaved roadways starting in 2024. Those materials include reclaimed asphalt pavement, recycled base and subbase materials, reclaimed aggregate and more.

The author is associate editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling and can be reached by email at hrischar@gie.net.