Green Manufacturing & Building

Sunrock’s concrete and asphalt divisions understand the importance of green manufacturing. Below are just a few ways we promote environmental responsibility in the manufacturing process.

Reclaimed water

The Wake Forest, Raleigh, and Durham concrete plant locations all have closed-loop weir structures. This type of system captures returned wash water from the concrete mixer trucks and reduces suspended solids, allowing for the reuse of the reclaimed water in our concrete operations. Additionally, at our Zebulon, NC production facility we purchase recycled water from the Wake County Water Treatment Plant for use in the production of our construction materials.

Recycled concrete

Sunrock was the first company in the Raleigh-Durham area to use its portable crusher to reclaim waste concrete and turn it into a green product. After the concrete is crushed, the final product is known as recycled concrete aggregate base coarse (RCABC). This product is approved by the NCDOT as an environmentally-friendly substitute for aggregate base coarse (ABC) materials. ABC is used as the foundation for the placement of concrete or asphalt paving.

Sunrock also uses citrus-based cleaning agents within our concrete operations and recycled coal fly ash as a mineral filler in our concrete.

Recycled asphalt

Sunrock encourages its customers to bring broken asphalt and asphalt millings back to our plants, where the material can be recycled and reused using a mobile track crusher. The product of this process is recycled asphalt pavement, better known as RAP. RAP is used to replace a certain amount of virgin liquid asphalt and aggregates in the asphalt production process.

We also use recycled fuels for drying aggregate and producing hot mix asphalt, and a non-petroleum-based release agent for truck beds hauling asphalt.

Asphalt pavement is a permanent resource, meaning the supply will never be exhausted. Because it will never be burned for fuel, it will also never emit greenhouse gases. As a recyclable material, reclaimed asphalt pavement is reused and recycled as a high quality building material, keeping it out of landfills.

Maintenance shop

Sunrock’s commitment to green manufacturing extends throughout our operations, including to our maintenance shop. Ways the Sunrock maintenance shop practices sustainability include:

• Recycling used motor oil for use as a fuel in specially designed heaters
• Recycling antifreeze, batteries and fuel filter