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You know about our quarries, you have seen our ready mix concrete and our bespoke cut stone products. However, did you know that we also offer Muck Away services too? In this blog we will explain what muck away is, and how we can help you with it.

What is muck away?

Muck away is the simple process of removing inert waste from various sites. Muck away is normally required by councils, trades people, farmlands and construction sites. If you are undertaking a project that will produce large amounts of inert waste, it would be worthwhile to arrange a muck away service.

Types of muck away

Muck away can be classified into three categories: inert, hazardous and non-hazardous.

Inert muck away is defined as waste that has not gone through any chemical physical or biological changes and thus is less likely to affect any other matter that it comes into contact with. Inert muck away includes brick, concrete, hardcore soil and subsoil.

Hazardous muck away is defined as a gathering of waste that has properties that make it harmful to the human health and the environment.

Non-hazardous materials can include a collection of different waste products that are considered not harmful to the environment and human life.

How do we muck away?

The service we offer at Armstrongs is carried out by our modern tipper fleet. This means we have a fleet of 70 wagons available at our disposal to suit a wide range of muck away needs for our customers. Our fleet consists of tipper wagons- we believe these trucks are the best for muck away. We can also provide excavators or wheel loaders to the site. This makes the muck away service completely hassle free for your project.

Our Fleet

Our fleet is powered entirely by Scania. The fleet that is available for muck away is as followed:

8 Wheel Rigid Tipper- Capable of up to 20 Tonnes muck away

Articulated Tipper- Capable of up to 29 Tonnes of muck away

Where does the collected muck go?

Once our tipper trucks are full of waste they will be transported to our inert landfill at Pilkington Quarry in Horwich. We separate the waste by classification of inert and Non-Hazardous waste. Inert waste such as soil is returned to the land. However, other materials such as brick and concrete are recycled.

Recycling Aggregate

Recycling waste is a great way to help our environmental footprint. As a result of this, At Armstrongs we strive to reduce the amount of waste that goes to our landfill. Armstrongs crush brick and concrete into small aggregate to be used in the construction of roads, whilst green waste can be used to make compost to be sold as fertiliser.

We aim to recycle as much muck away as is physically possible with aiming only to return soil and spoil to the land.

Landfill

As well as collecting from various sites Pilkington Quarry accepts inert waste landfill. As a result, Pilkington 1 is exhausted but carries permissions to receive 2m tonnes of inert waste, whilst Pilkington 2 is as yet unmined but carries a pale buff/brown, highly durable gritstone.

If you would like to enquire about inert waste tipping at Pilkington Quarry then contact us today on 01204 668021.

For enquiries about our services give us a call today or email us at enquiries@armstrongsgroup.com

You can also contact us and follow our updates across our social channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Who are AMIX?

AMIX established since 1993, is one of the longest running concrete companies operating in the North West and a proud subsidiary of Armstrongs Group. AMIX is a company who produce and provide ready mix concrete.

Despite the fact that AMIX have been trading continuously since 1993, they haven’t always been a part of Armstrongs Group. Armstrongs Group bought AMIX in 2015. The aggregate which AMIX use in the making of the concrete is Armstrong’s own. Therefore this ensures top quality as we have full control of what goes into our products.

Within AMIX, there are staff members who have over 30 years of experience in working for major concrete providers. As a result of this AMIX have one of the best teams, in and outside of the office.

What is Ready Mix Concrete?

First of all, what is it that AMIX produce? They produce Ready Mix Concrete. RMC is designed to enable you to cast material into a desired shape and then hardened. Ready mix concrete is made-up of different elements. These are cement, aggregate fine and course, water and other additives if required.

They produce a range of different ready mix concretes. These range from GEN1, which is known for its extreme versatility, to RC50 which is used widely for its industrial strength.

AMIX produce concrete which have multiple different uses. Some of these include driveways, car parks, patios, floors, foundations, walls and footings.

We don’t only just use our own aggregate, but we use CEM1 in our mixes which is 100% cement, ensuring the best quality.

Who do AMIX provide to?

AMIX are very proud to provide concrete too many of the North West’s leading companies including: Builders, Civil Engineers, Tradesmen and Commercial Contractors.

Smaller projects such as home driveways are also something which AMIX are proud of taking part in. This is because of our love for our community, and we want to continue to help lay foundations across Lancashire.

You can visit our AMIX website HERE or contact us if you have any questions or queries about what we do. Feel free to look at our previous blog ‘Concrete vs Cement’ where you can learn more about the trade.

Check out all our socials such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn where we post daily!

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Even though concrete and cement are totally different things, it is very common for people to get them mixed up. In today’s blog, it’s Concrete Vs Cement! We’re going to be telling you all about the differences between the two materials and what sets them apart.

Concrete Vs Cement

What is Concrete?

Concrete is what’s formed when aggregate and sand are mixed with cement and water. This is a material which gets stronger and stronger throughout the years and the older it gets. However, time is not the only factor which will cause concrete to harden. Moisture also helps the concrete keep curing (hardening).

Concrete is used in many different purposes around the world, including buildings, bridges and road pavings.

What is Cement?

Cement is a powdery substance which is mixed with other materials to create a desired product. It is an ingredient in concrete and is a powdery substance which is made by calcining lime and clay. Calcining is the part of process where the lime and clay go through a large tunnel and heated to extreme temperatures.

At our subsidiary company, AMIX, we use only the best cement which is CEM1. This contains 100% cement.

Cement is not only used in the production of concrete. There are multiple ways in which cement can be used. These include plastering, masonry work, and creating joints for drains and pipes.

The Process

Portland cement makes up around 10% and 15% of the total mass of concrete. Portland cement is not a brand name however; it is just a generic term for the most universally used cement. Water is added to the Portland cement in a process called ‘hydration’.

This starts a chemical reaction, creating the cement to harden. Before this hardens, sand and aggregate must be added, so a paste-like substance forms. This then turns into an almost rock-like mixture, known as concrete. When the concrete sets, the tiny crystals in the structure will harden.

This shows that there is actually a huge difference between concrete and cement. We hope we have provided you with some quality information which you could maybe use in the future.

If you have many more questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  If you enjoyed our Concrete Vs Cement blog, have a look at our previous blog which is full of our frequently asked questions, so feel free to visit this HERE.

Check out all our socials such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn where we post daily!

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What is quarrying? This is a common question which we are always answering for our customers all the time, and we’re always happy to help!

What is quarrying?

So, what really is quarrying? Quarrying is the extraction of stone or other materials from the earth. The materials we produce from quarrying are be sand, gravel and crushed rock. We refer to these as aggregates. Quarries have different names around the world; some examples are ‘surface mines’, ‘pits’, ‘open pits’ and ‘opencast mines’.

Commonly, quarrying and mining can be mix up. These are two very popular, but different processes which are used for extracting varied materials. Both incorporate the extraction of different minerals; however both have different processes and methods. Both process have different tools and machines for their jobs

Quarry produces materials such as sand, gravel and stone. Whereas mining produces various metals, coal and gemstones. The materials which come from both quarrying and mining include dimension stone, gravel and clay.

Here at Armstrongs, we have 5 quarries which are located in the North West, Lancashire and Cumbria. These are Montcliffe, Pilkington, Brinscall, Shap and Waddington Fell.

Why do we need quarries?

The material which we produce using quarrying is essential to everyday life. Construction is a vital part of the world and our advancements. We must build roads and buildings to help us with travel, living, business and leisure. More than ever, the quarrying industry needs talented men and women to help operate the quarries of today, and the future.

The largest quantity of mineral extracted by quarrying in the UK is used for construction, and known as ‘aggregates’.

Armstrongs have produced and supplied over 1 million tonnes of Aggregates for uses in construction, Concrete and much more. If you want to know more about our involvement with concrete, Check our our AMIX concrete web page.

You can keep up with our latest quarrying news and updates on all our social medias such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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