Pavers, kerbs and setts

Robust paving materials are abundantly available on the reclamation market. Some roadworks contractors have their stock of pavers and sets, or deliver them to reclamation dealers who clean, sort and resell them. The reuse market largely follows historical and regional differences. For example, reclaimed porphyry pavers, bluestone copings, or clay clinkers are primarily (but not exclusively) available in regions with a history of mining and processing the type of stone involved or producing the material.  Almost all paving materials are highly modular and generally easy to disassemble and install. 

Documentation

Natural stone setts

Setts in porphyry, granite, sandstone of other types or stone are often dismantled in large quantities during roadworks and are consequently easy to find on the reclamation market. Many different formats exist, and dealers will often offer to cut setts to produce a smooth surface accessible to people with reduced mobility or cyclists. Their very long lifespan and modularity make them a model product of circularity. 

In recent decades, cobblestones have also often been imported from outside of Europe, such as the Kandla cobblestone from India. These stones are at the moment still rare on the reuse market. 

Natural stone kerbs

Natural stone kerbs were usually quarried during the last century and worked by hand or machine. While most coping stones are made of bluestone or granite, smaller specimens made of porphyry or vitrified clay are also available on the reclamation market. Different traders cut the coping stones to a certain length and others conduct certain surface treatments. 

Concrete coping stones are very rare on the reclamation market because their cheap price makes them very difficult to compete with. 

Clay pavers

Clay pavers, also known as Dutch clinkers, are a commonly used paving material. Pavers are similar to regular bricks but are baked longer at a higher temperature. This process significantly increases robustness: the average lifespan of clay pavers is around 130 years. Combined with their easy removal, it is no surprise that reusing the pavers is common practice, both on large and small scales.

Download document

Concrete pavers

Concrete pavers are only available in limited numbers on the reuse market. Only few resellers build up a stock of concrete pavers because their value is rather low due to the abundant supply of cheap and new equivalent materials. It is not impossible to find large batches, most batched materials are ‘incidental’ and are only being dismantled with other, more valuable materials. The reuse of concrete clinkers is usually limited to in-situ reuse.

Large format concrete slabs

Prefabricated concrete slabs (usually referred to as ‘Stelcon’ slabs after the well-known brand) serve as a (sometimes temporary) paving material for industrial areas and storage spaces. The dimensions of the panels are standardised, which makes for a modular and easily reusable system. It is mainly their weight that needs to be taken into account. Today, this material is available in a limited number of shops, while some companies also rent these panels.