Why are they beneficial
Cost effective:
Recycled aggregates are highly cost effective. This should not be confused with low quality however. While their quality matches quarry aggregate, their price is reduced. This is due to a variety of factors: the cost of quarried aggregates rising due to finite resources, reduced transport cost as recycled aggregate can be produced locally, and a push for recycled product prices to be affordable.
Environmental impact:
Reusing construction waste as aggregate ensures that this waste stays out of the landfill. Construction, Demolition, and Excavation contribute to 59% of the UK waste produced. The UK has come a long way with recycling, with over 90% of non-hazardous construction waste being recovered. Recycled aggregates have helped make this recovery number so high. Reducing landfill waste is important to keep down the release of greenhouse gases which damage the environment.
In addition, mining quarry aggregate damages the environment. To dig in these quarries, the vegetation and surrounding areas must be cleared. This ruins habitats and damages ecosystems.
As previously asserted, mining is more expensive too, as it requires a large amount of machinery and resources.