Joining forces.

Why should any business join the trade association for the industry it is in? Or even more specifically, why should a concrete and asphalt recycler join the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA)?

That was one of the questions discussed at the recent mid-year meeting of the CMRA's Board of Directors (for a full report on the meeting, see page 12). The question came up because the board is seeking to grow the association's membership. Already the CMRA boasts a membership lineup of most of the major mixed C&D recyclers throughout the country. And the CMRA has been proactive in the many issues facing that group, starting with proposed bans on some of its products in some states to answering questions about hydrogen sulfide gas and CCA wood, among others.

But the far larger pool of potential candidates is that of concrete and asphalt recyclers. While the CMRA does have many of the largest concrete and asphalt recyclers as members, there may be as many as 2,000 potential member companies that process the ubiquitous material.

So why don't they join the CMRA? As one CMRA board member who recycles concrete put it, "There are far fewer issues facing concrete recyclers. It just kind of happens with no problems."

That may be true, to a point. There are fewer contaminants and often fewer regulations affecting concrete and asphalt recycling. But there are issues. For example, there are still states that don't allow the recycling of concrete with paint on it because of a fear the paint might be lead-based. However, the CMRA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Construction Research Lab worked on a project together whereby concrete with lead-based paint (LBP) on it was processed into a roadbase product. Extensive tests were conducted on what happened to the lead, including air monitoring, employee monitoring and examinations of the product and various areas around the crusher. The result showed that recycling that type of material is safe if minor precautions are taken.

Or take the so-called "quarter-mile rule" in Texas. Some time ago, before the CMRA began advocating to regulators and legislators, the state legislature passed a law that bans the processing of concrete within one fourth of a mile of any structure, including houses, businesses, schools, etc. The legislation was enacted reportedly as a knee-jerk reaction by one legislator who saw a mobile crusher operating with no dust control and became concerned about all the dust created. A simpler idea that would have promoted recycling was to have strictly required working dust control systems employed at all times on the crushers. While the law did grandfather all stationary plants running at the time of its implementation, it effectively killed off much of the onsite crushing activity and any new plants near populated areas.

The CMRA jumped in when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) looked to study the barriers to increased use of recycled concrete in the highway environment. The organization made sure recyclers were part of those meetings, if only so state DOT officials did not paint a false rosy picture of what was happening in their states when talking with FHWA.

While there are other similar problems, we suggest the best way concrete and asphalt recyclers can use the CMRA to their advantage is being done currently by several California companies, led by Dan Copp Crushing in the southern part of the state. Under the CMRA banner, the concrete and asphalt recyclers have approached state legislators to create more opportunities for the environmentally friendly industry they represent. This scenario would make sense in a lot of other states, for concrete and asphalt recyclers to band together with the CMRA to promote ways to improve and increase their businesses.