If you think all concretes are created equal, think again.
One concrete option is markedly greener than the rest: CleanCrete, formerly known as Ekocrete. The ready-mix concrete is comprised of up to 85 percent recycled materials, and Cazadero-based Austin Creek Materials is the only Sonoma County materials supplier to provide and sell the product.
The company, with offices in Santa Rosa, has been selling the stuff since last January.
“Ekocrete is just as strong and reliable as regular concrete, only it’s almost entirely made of recycled stuff,” said General Manager Steve Canelis. “It’s perfect for the home or business owner who wants concrete but also wants to keep the environment in mind.”
What makes this concrete different? Typical concrete is comprised of 75 percent sand and gravel-aggregate that, in most cases, is plucked from the earth at a quarry. Ekocrete, however, replaces all of this material with recycled concrete that has been pulverized into tiny pieces that resemble sand and gravel.
The product also substitutes fly ash from coal mills for cement powder, re-using waste instead of creating something new. It can be colored, stained, stamped and acid etched, just like any other concrete.
Ekocrete is the brainchild of Jim Glessner, president of Clean Concrete Technologies in Palo Alto. The company was named Ekocrete until this summer, when it changed its name (in some circles, the product itself is now known as CleanCrete).
While Ekocrete can be used in both residential and commercial products, most customers are residential. Austin Creek’s customer base is no exception: Canelis says the materials supplier just started on a 500-yard installation at a custom home in West County.
For homeowners interested in obtaining silver or gold status through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, these types of materials are a step in the right direction. For more information about Ekocrete, visit www.cleanconcrete.com.
