Yes. Concrete is one of the most recyclable construction materials in existence. Tennessee has active concrete recycling facilities across the state, and TDEC classifies clean concrete as a beneficial-use material rather than solid waste. Nearly 100% of a clean concrete load can go back into new construction as crushed aggregate.

If you have a driveway rip-up, a foundation cut, or a stack of broken slab in the truck bed, the answer to "can I recycle this?" is almost always yes.

What "Recyclable" Actually Means for Concrete

Recycling concrete does not mean melting it down or reconstituting it into a fresh pour. It means crushing the old material into sized aggregate that gets reused in new construction.

The output goes by a few names:

RCA — Recycled Concrete Aggregate
Crusher run — dense-graded base material
Road base — sub-grade for asphalt and concrete pavement
Drainage stone — clean, angular fractions used in French drains and pipe bedding

Functionally, this is the same aggregate that would have come out of a virgin limestone quarry. It just took a detour through a building or a sidewalk first.

The Recycling Process, Step by Step

Every concrete recycler in Tennessee runs some version of the same five-step process:

1. Delivery to a Recycling Yard

Contractors, homeowners, and demolition crews bring loads of broken concrete to a permitted recycling yard. Material comes in loose in dump trucks, in dumpsters, or off pickup beds and trailers.

2. Sorting

Yard staff pull out contamination — rebar, wire mesh, sections of PVC, wood, insulation, trash. Small amounts of rebar are fine (the crusher handles it), but large steel bar and wire have to come out first.

3. Primary Crushing

Slab pieces feed into a jaw crusher or impact crusher. These machines break oversized chunks down to workable sizes — typically anywhere from fines up to 3 or 4 inches, depending on how the crusher is set.

4. Screening

Crushed material runs across a screening deck that separates it into sized products: #57 stone, #4 stone, crusher run, fines. Anything oversized cycles back through the crusher.

5. Secondary Processing and Load-Out

Depending on the end market, some material gets re-crushed or washed. Finished product piles are loaded into customer trucks and sent to the next job site.

Where the Resulting Aggregate Gets Used

Recycled concrete replaces virgin stone in almost every application that does not require structural strength. Common uses include:

Driveway base and sub-base
Road sub-grade for county roads and parking lots
Parking lot construction
French drain and yard drain aggregate
Retaining wall backfill
Pipe and utility bedding
Erosion control (larger chunks used as RCA rip-rap)
Structural fill for building pads

For most of these applications, RCA performs identically to virgin quarry stone at 30-50% less cost.

What Qualifies as Recyclable Concrete

You can recycle:

Clean broken slab and sidewalk sections
Driveway rip-ups
Foundation cuts
Structural slab pieces
Curb-and-gutter concrete
Broken block and paver material (some yards)

You cannot recycle (or the yard will reject it):

Concrete contaminated with oil, fuel, or hazardous material
Concrete so heavily reinforced that steel outweighs the aggregate
Painted or coated surfaces in large quantities
Concrete mixed with drywall, insulation, or general C&D debris

The rule of thumb: if it looks like concrete and mostly is concrete, a recycler will take it.

Tennessee-Specific Rules

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recognizes concrete as Class IV construction and demolition material eligible for beneficial reuse. Recyclers operate under solid-waste permits that specifically allow them to accept, process, and resell clean concrete.

Landfilling clean concrete is legal in Tennessee, but it is wasteful and expensive. C&D landfills charge per-ton disposal fees, take up finite airspace, and offer no return on the material. Recycling costs less, keeps the material in the economy, and reduces the demand for new quarry blasting.

There is no state mandate requiring concrete recycling, but between the cost savings, LEED credits, and TDOT specifications that increasingly favor recycled content, most contractors choose it.

Where to Take Concrete for Recycling in East Tennessee

If you are in the East Tennessee region, Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel accepts clean concrete for recycling at a flat per-vehicle fee. The yard is at 245 Brookdale Rd in Maryville, open Monday through Friday 7am to 5pm and Saturday 7am to noon.

The service area covers roughly a 50-mile radius, which includes Knoxville, Blount County, Sevier County, Loudon County, Anderson County, and Roane County. Contractors doing tear-outs in Knox or Blount can typically drop and be back on the job in under an hour.

Q&A

Can I recycle concrete with rebar in it? Yes. Minor rebar is fine. The crushing process breaks the concrete off the steel, and the steel gets separated magnetically or manually before the finished aggregate goes to a pile. Heavily reinforced sections with more steel than concrete are the exception.

How much of a concrete pour is actually recyclable? Close to 100% of clean concrete is recyclable. The number only drops if the material is contaminated with hazardous substances or mixed with other C&D debris that has to be sorted out and landfilled.

Is recycled concrete as strong as new concrete aggregate? For base and sub-grade uses, yes — RCA is engineered to meet the same specifications as virgin stone. For new structural concrete pours, most building codes allow 30-50% RCA blended with virgin aggregate, and some newer specs allow more.

Does Tennessee require concrete recycling? No. There is no state mandate. Contractors choose recycling because it costs less than landfill disposal, and green-building programs like LEED award credits for using recycled content on new construction.

Where is the closest concrete recycler in East Tennessee? For contractors and homeowners working in the Maryville, Alcoa, Knoxville, or greater Blount County area, Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel in Maryville is the closest option. Call ahead to confirm hours and pricing.

Bottom Line

Concrete is one of the few construction materials that recycles cleanly and economically. Tennessee has the infrastructure, TDEC has the regulatory framework, and the crushed product performs as well as virgin stone for the vast majority of uses. Skipping the landfill is usually the cheaper move.

Have a load of broken concrete you need to get rid of? Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel accepts clean concrete for recycling at our Maryville yard and serves contractors and homeowners across East Tennessee. Call (865) 999-0857 to check current hours and per-vehicle pricing.

Is Concrete Recyclable in Tennessee? Yes — Here's Exactly How