Environmental Benefits

You may not realize it, but by using concrete pressure pipe from Hanson Pressure Pipe, you’re dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of your project.

That’s not all.  There are multiple reasons why Hanson Pressure Pipe’s products are the sustainable solution for today’s world.

Energy Conservation

• A long service life reduces energy needs. Concrete’s long life reduces the need for replacement, thereby eliminating further manufacturing energy required for replacement products and drastically reducing vehicle emissions in construction zones.
• Concrete pipe exhibits a lower energy footprint associated with production, delivery and maintenance compared to other materials.
• Most concrete mixes contain a certain amount of fly ash, a waste stream from the coal energy industry of which disposal has traditionally been difficult. This reduces the overall amount of cement required in the mixture which reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces landfill volumes and fly ash disposal costs, creates a lower-cost concrete and reduces the water required to produce the concrete. It is also proven that fly ash improves the concrete product’s durability which means its service life increases even more.

 
Recyclable

• Using industrial by-products and recycled materials reduces the need for virgin raw materials.
• The reinforcement used in Hanson Pressure Pipe products is steel, which is typically 90 to 100% recycled. Any scrap steel not used in the products we manufacture can be recycled again into another piece of usable reinforcement.
• Once a concrete or steel product reaches the end of its service life, which in most cases exceeds 100 years, it can be fully recycled. Construction and demolition waste in the U.S. averages approximately 135 million tons annually. Hanson’s concrete can be used in a variety of applications where virgin materials are generally used, not to mention that the steel is infinitely recyclable and does not need to be buried in a landfill.
• Hanson Pressure Pipe products made primarily of steel can also be recycled back into scrap steel used for concrete pipe reinforcement or other industrial uses.

 
Environmentally Friendly

• o Made of primarily local, natural, non-toxic elements from the earth – sand, gravel or crushed stone – Hanson Pressure Pipe’s concrete structures are inert. They are not flammable, will not react with other materials and do not release chemicals into their surroundings.
• It has been suggested that using concrete products has an affect on the environment because of cement content.  It’s important to remember that cement is just a component of concrete and generally makes up no more than 10 to 13% of the total concrete mixture. In fact, the embodied carbon dioxide content (ECO2) in concrete products from using cement is only circa 11% of the total carbon dioxide produced during the manufacturing process of cement.
• Approximately 60% of the carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacturing process of cement results from a process known as calcination, a chemical reaction among the raw materials in the cement kiln. Studies have shown that later, when hardened concrete is exposed to air, the calcination reaction reverses in a process known as carbonation, which occurs naturally in all concrete products and recaptures carbon dioxide. Eventually, exposure of hardened concrete to the air will allow the recapture of the carbon dioxide originally emitted during the cement manufacturing process.
• Hanson Pressure Pipe is a sub-division of Heidelberg Cement – one of the leading cement manufacturers in the area of carbon dioxide emission reductions and overall corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Due to this relationship, we are constantly at the forefront of any and all advances in cement production that positively affect the environment compared to current conditions and utilize these in our cement purchasing decisions.
• Almost 100% of the components that make up Hanson Pressure Pipe products are extracted and manufactured locally – less than 500 miles from the Hanson production facility – thereby reducing emissions and costs associated with long transport of materials.
• Due to Hanson concrete and steel pressure pipe’s inherent, built-in strength, native soil can be used to backfill the project site after installation. There is no need to import material for backfill.

 
Socially Preferred

• Concrete and steel pressure pipe are less likely to leak than other pipe materials. This is especially important for pressure pipes that carry a community’s drinking water. Less treated water wasted into the soil means less fresh water treatment and costs associated.
• The strength and mass that is inherent to concrete and steel pressure pipe reduces the chances of damage or flotation during inclement weather, such as flooding. This means your family can drink water safely during any weather when it flows through Hanson Pressure Pipe.
• Concrete and steel are not flammable.
• Hanson Pressure Pipe makes an effort to utilize raw material suppliers who have a socially responsible business plan. For example, many of our aggregate and sand suppliers rehabilitate the quarries they once used for community use, benefiting social progress.