At Precast Specialties Corp., our mission is to embrace sustainable practices and continually educate our customers about the benefits of precast concrete as a sustainable building material. The following facts are from the National Precast Concrete Association’s “The Little Green Book of Concrete”, a great resource for precast information that we recommend reading!

- All the materials that go into precast concrete come from natural and recycled sources, mainly inorganic.

- Transportation costs can double the carbon footprint of construction materials through the burning of fossil fuels, which makes locally produced material, like precast concrete, more environmentally friendly.

- Many precast plants now incorporate concrete wastewater and cement recycling systems.

- Unlike other construction materials, precast concrete erection is much less disruptive to the site environment, producing far less construction debris, dust, noise and pollution.

- All reinforcing steel is made from 100 percent steel scrap. All reinforcing bars used in precast concrete are made from recycled steel. At the end of a precast structure’s life, the reinforcement can be recovered for recycling again.

- As with many concrete products, precast is easy to crush and recycle for use as aggregate – almost 100 percent of a concrete building can be recycled, no matter how heavily reinforced.

- Precast concrete is manufactured in plants under strictly controlled conditions, which means excellent resource efficiency for materials, labor, energy and processes.

- The easy installation of precast products makes for less noise pollution from the construction site, a significant benefit to those inhabiting or working in adjoining properties.

- The durability and long service life of precast products means fewer repairs and generations of service, which means less use of energy and natural resources during the lifetime of a product when compared with other materials.

- Over 60 years, a concrete home emits up to 15 tons less carbon dioxide than a lightweight alternative, thereby providing an environmentally better long-term solution.

- With operational energy (heating and cooling systems) accounting for about 90 percent of the energy consumption of a building, the ability of precast concrete systems to moderate temperature extremes is both economically important and good for the environment.