Enter the volume of demolished concrete and your local disposal and recycling rates to instantly see your net cost savings, CO₂ emissions avoided, and landfill volume diverted.
Free to use
·
No sign-up required
·
CO₂ factors from EPA & NRMCA data
·
Tons, cubic yards & metric
✓ Net cost savings vs. landfill disposal✓ CO₂ emissions avoided✓ Landfill volume diverted✓ Last verified May 2026
Written by Rachel Sousa — CO₂ emission factors cross-checked against EPA Construction & Demolition data and NRMCA industry benchmarks, May 2026.
Enter Your Concrete Demolition Details
Estimate from slab volume: 1 yd³ of concrete ≈ 2.0–2.1 short tons.Please enter a valid quantity greater than 0.
$
US range: $40–$80/ton tipping fee + $10–$25/ton trucking. Check with your local C&D landfill.Please enter a valid disposal rate greater than 0.
$
Enter what your recycler charges (processing fee). Leave blank if recycler accepts for free or pays you a tipping credit.
$
If you reuse the crushed aggregate on-site (subbase, fill), enter virgin aggregate cost saved. US average: $10–$18/ton.
Results appear instantly. No sign-up required.
Your Recycling Savings Estimate
Cost Comparison
🗑 Landfill Disposal Cost
—
Total tipping + trucking fees
♻ Recycling Net Cost
—
Recycle fee minus RCA credit
Key Savings Metrics
—
Net Cost Savings
—
CO₂ Avoided (tons)
—
Landfill Volume Diverted (yd³)
—Concrete (tons)
—Volume (yd³)
—RCA Credit
—Savings vs. Disposal
Total Project Savings by Recycling
—
Savings = (Landfill disposal cost) − (Recycling processing fee) + (RCA aggregate credit). CO₂ avoidance factor: 0.025–0.030 tons CO₂ per ton of concrete diverted from landfill, plus 0.048 tons CO₂ per ton of virgin aggregate avoided (NRMCA / EPA C&D benchmarks). Actual savings depend on local market rates — always confirm with your recycler and supplier. Use our Carbon Footprint Calculator for a full lifecycle analysis.
How to Use This Concrete Recycling Savings Calculator
Estimate your demolished concrete quantity.
If you have the slab's original dimensions, use our Concrete Slab Calculator to get the volume in cubic yards, then convert using the rule of thumb: 1 cubic yard of concrete weighs about 2.0–2.1 short tons. For a direct weight, use a scale ticket from your haul truck — that's the most accurate input this calculator can accept.
Get your local landfill tipping fee.
Call the closest C&D (Construction & Demolition) landfill and ask for their concrete tipping fee in dollars per ton. This varies widely — typically $40–$80/ton in the US. Add your estimated trucking cost per ton if you're paying a hauler separately. Enter the combined per-ton rate in the Landfill Disposal Cost field.
Find out what local recyclers charge or pay.
Many concrete recyclers in urban areas accept demolition concrete for free or charge a small processing fee ($5–$20/ton). Some may even pay you a small tipping credit for clean, uncontaminated concrete. Enter whatever the recycler quotes you in the Recycling Cost field. If they charge nothing, leave the field blank (zero).
Add your RCA (Recycled Concrete Aggregate) credit if applicable.
If the crushed concrete will be reused on-site as base course, fill, or drainage aggregate, enter the current market price of equivalent virgin crushed stone in your area — that's real money saved on materials. US markets typically run $10–$18/ton for crushed gravel. Hit Calculate and review your total savings, CO₂ avoided, and landfill volume diverted.
⚠ Pro Tip: The biggest variable isn't the recycling fee — it's trucking. If your job site is within 20 miles of a concrete recycler, recycling almost always beats landfill disposal on cost alone. Beyond 30–40 miles, the hauling cost advantage erodes quickly. Get recycler and landfill quotes for the same haul distance before making the decision.
How the Concrete Recycling Savings Formula Works
The calculator compares the total cost of landfill disposal against the net cost of recycling (processing fee minus aggregate credit), then adds the CO₂ and landfill volume avoided as environmental metrics.
Step
Formula
Example (50 tons, $55/ton disposal, $10/ton recycle, $12/ton RCA)
1. Disposal cost
Tons × $/ton disposal
50 × $55 = $2,750
2. Recycle processing
Tons × $/ton recycle fee
50 × $10 = $500
3. RCA aggregate credit
Tons × $/ton RCA value
50 × $12 = $600
4. Net savings
Disposal − Recycle + RCA
$2,750 − $500 + $600 = $2,850
5. CO₂ avoided
Tons × 0.078 tons CO₂/ton
50 × 0.078 = 3.9 tons CO₂
6. Landfill diverted
Tons ÷ 2.025 = yd³
50 ÷ 2.025 = 24.7 yd³
Recycling Savings Reference Table
Net savings estimates at common project sizes. Assumes $55/ton disposal, $10/ton recycle fee, $12/ton RCA credit. Adjust inputs in the calculator for your local rates.
Project Size
Concrete (tons)
Disposal Cost
Recycle Net Cost
Net Savings
CO₂ Avoided
Small patio (10×10 ft, 4 in)
2.5
$138
$−5 (credit)
$143
0.2 tons
Residential driveway
12
$660
$−24
$684
0.9 tons
Garage floor (24×24 ft)
30
$1,650
$−60
$1,710
2.3 tons
Small commercial slab
75
$4,125
$−150
$4,275
5.9 tons
Medium roadway section
200
$11,000
$−400
$11,400
15.6 tons
Large commercial demo
500
$27,500
$−1,000
$28,500
39.0 tons
Highway / bridge deck
1,500
$82,500
$−3,000
$85,500
117.0 tons
Recycle net cost = processing fee ($10/ton) minus RCA credit ($12/ton) = net revenue of $2/ton. Actual rates vary by region and concrete quality. Values rounded to nearest dollar.
What Quality of Concrete Qualifies for Full Recycling Credit?
Recyclers don't pay the same rate — or accept every load — for all demolished concrete. The quality of incoming material directly determines what you can charge for or what you'll pay. Here's the real-world breakdown:
Concrete demolition material quality grades and expected recycling economics.
Material Grade
Description
Typical Recycler Response
Best Reuse Application
Grade A — Clean
Reinforced or unreinforced concrete, no contamination, no asphalt, no soil
Free acceptance or small tipping credit ($2–$5/ton)
RCA base course, fill, drainage layer
Grade B — Mixed
Concrete with minor embedded rebar (crushed in), small amounts of brick or block
Free acceptance or small processing fee ($5–$15/ton)
Road base, temporary haul roads, non-structural fill
Grade C — Contaminated
Concrete mixed with asphalt, gypsum wallboard, soil, wood, or hazardous materials
Full tipping fee charged ($20–$50/ton) — may be refused
Lower-grade fill only; may require soil testing
Grade D — Hazardous
Concrete with lead paint, PCBs, asbestos, or fuel contamination
Refused by standard recyclers; requires licensed hazmat contractor
Permitted hazardous waste facility only
Sort your demolition debris on-site before it ever gets loaded. Keeping concrete separated from asphalt, soil, and wood at the point of removal costs almost nothing and is worth $20–$60 per ton in recycling rate differences. Mixed loads almost always get downgraded to the worst-grade rate in the load.
Common Mistakes When Estimating Concrete Recycling Savings
⚠️
Using the landfill disposal rate without including trucking.
The tipping fee is only part of your disposal cost. Hauling demolished concrete typically adds $10–$30 per ton depending on distance. If you're comparing disposal vs. recycling, both should include trucking — the recycler may actually be closer, changing the economics entirely.
🏗️
Assuming all concrete qualifies for the highest RCA credit.
Contaminated loads — concrete mixed with asphalt, soil, or debris — don't qualify for standard RCA rates. Recyclers downgrade mixed loads, and your aggregate credit evaporates. Sort on site. One contaminated truck can drop the credit rate for the entire job.
📐
Estimating concrete weight from volume without using the right density.
Normal-weight concrete is approximately 150 lb/ft³ (2.025 tons per cubic yard). Lightweight concrete can be as low as 90 lb/ft³ — using the wrong density can under- or over-estimate your tonnage by 30%, which carries through to every cost and CO₂ number in this calculator.
🌱
Ignoring the RCA credit entirely because "we don't use it on this job."
Even if you don't plan to reuse the crushed aggregate on your own site, someone else will. Ask the recycler whether they pay a tipping credit or whether you can direct the aggregate to another project site. On large jobs, this credit can exceed the recycling processing fee — turning a cost into net revenue.
📋
Skipping scale tickets and estimating weight by eye.
Ready-mix trucks carry a delivery ticket with the exact volume ordered. For demolition, weigh your first haul truck on a certified scale and extrapolate — or use the slab dimensions and the 2.025 ton/yd³ conversion factor. Guessing weight by the number of truck loads is notoriously inaccurate and leads to bid errors.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most US markets, yes — often significantly cheaper. Landfill tipping fees for concrete and C&D debris average $40–$80 per ton depending on your region. Many concrete recyclers accept clean demolished concrete for free or charge only a small processing fee ($5–$20 per ton). When you also factor in the value of the recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) that can substitute for virgin crushed stone, the savings on a medium-sized job can easily exceed $10,000–$30,000. The main variable is trucking distance: if the recycler is farther away than the landfill, that difference can eat into your savings.
Normal-weight structural concrete (the kind used in slabs, driveways, and foundations) weighs approximately 150 pounds per cubic foot, which equals about 2.025 short tons per cubic yard (or 2.36 tonnes per cubic meter). Lightweight concrete can weigh as little as 90 lb per cubic foot. When estimating tonnage from a slab's dimensions, use 2.0–2.1 tons per cubic yard for a reasonable estimate. Always verify with your hauler's scale tickets when billing by weight is involved — volume-to-weight conversions introduce rounding errors on large jobs.
Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is crushed demolished concrete that has been processed through an impact crusher and screened to a specified gradation. It is used widely as: road base and subbase for driveways, parking lots, and roadways; general backfill; drainage aggregate; temporary haul road surfaces; and in some states, as a direct partial replacement for virgin coarse aggregate in new concrete mixes (typically limited to 20–30% substitution for non-structural applications). RCA typically has slightly higher absorption than virgin aggregate, which is why it's used at reduced substitution rates in new concrete. ASTM D6307 and various state DOT standards govern its use in road base applications.
The primary CO₂ savings come from two sources: avoided landfill haul emissions (approximately 0.025–0.030 tons CO₂ per ton of concrete, based on EPA C&D transport factors) and substitution of virgin aggregate production (approximately 0.048–0.055 tons CO₂ per ton of aggregate avoided, per NRMCA lifecycle data). Combined, recycling one ton of demolished concrete avoids approximately 0.07–0.09 tons of CO₂ equivalent. For a typical residential driveway demolition (10–15 tons), that's roughly 0.7–1.4 tons of CO₂ avoided — comparable to taking a car off the road for one to two months. Larger commercial projects can avoid hundreds of tons of CO₂.
Yes — reinforced concrete is the standard input at most concrete recycling facilities. The crushing process separates embedded rebar and wire mesh from the aggregate; the steel is typically recovered and sold separately as scrap metal (which adds a small additional revenue stream on large jobs). Concrete recyclers are equipped with impact crushers and magnetic separators specifically designed for reinforced concrete. The presence of rebar does not disqualify a load, though some facilities charge slightly more per ton for heavily reinforced structural members versus plain slab concrete.
Standard concrete recyclers will refuse or heavily penalize loads that contain: asphalt (even small amounts contaminate the aggregate); gypsum drywall, wood, or insulation mixed in; concrete with lead paint, PCBs, or petroleum contamination; and asbestos-containing material (which requires a licensed hazardous waste contractor regardless of the host material). Concrete from blast furnace slag or fly ash mixes is generally acceptable. If your demolition site has known contamination history (gas station, industrial facility, pre-1980 building), get the concrete tested before assuming it's recyclable.
Yes, and for large projects (200+ tons), on-site crushing is often the most economical option. Mobile jaw crushers and impact crushers can be rented or contracted to come to your site, process the rubble, and leave the RCA stockpiled for immediate reuse as base course. You avoid all haul costs in both directions. The minimum volume to justify mobilizing a crusher is typically 100–200 tons; below that, hauling to a fixed recycling facility is usually cheaper. Rental rates for a portable impact crusher run $2,500–$6,000 per day depending on capacity — compare this to per-ton hauling rates before deciding.
Yes. Under LEED v4 and v4.1, recycling demolished concrete contributes to the Materials and Resources credit MR-C5 (Construction and Demolition Waste Management). Projects must divert at least 50% of their C&D waste (by weight or volume) from landfill to achieve the baseline credit point. Concrete is typically the heaviest and largest-volume material on a demolition job, so diverting it is often the fastest path to meeting the threshold. Documentation requires scale tickets and chain-of-custody records from the accepting recycling facility — your recycler can provide a Certificate of Recycling.
Search for "concrete recycling facility" or "C&D recycler" followed by your city or county. Ready-mix concrete plants and quarries often operate recycling yards as a secondary business. Your state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Department of Natural Resources (DNR) typically maintains a directory of permitted C&D recycling facilities. Demolition and excavation contractors in your area often know the local options best — a quick call to a local demo contractor is sometimes faster than an online search. When you call, ask specifically about tipping fees, minimum load sizes, contamination policies, and whether they issue certificates of recycling.
According to EPA and industry data, approximately 65–75% of demolished concrete in the United States is currently recycled. This makes concrete one of the most successfully recycled construction materials — far ahead of wood, drywall, and mixed C&D debris. The recycling rate is higher in urban markets where recycling facilities are nearby and landfill costs are high. In rural areas with cheap landfill access and no nearby recyclers, disposal rates remain higher. The NRMCA and Portland Cement Association track this data and continue to push for higher diversion rates through contractor education and LEED incentives.
The people behind this calculator
Rachel Sousa · Written & maintained by
B.S. Civil Engineering, Purdue University. 10+ years turning construction and engineering standards into clear, usable calculator documentation; former documentation lead at a national ready-mix supplier.
