GEORGETOWN, Del. (AP) — A new stone recycling business has opened in Georgetown, complete with its own set of train tracks.
“We recycle bitumen and concrete rubble, crush it to resell it and keep it from going to landfill,” said co-owner Rich Bell.
Georgetown Materials is the second venture for Rich and Jennifer Bell, who already own Clean Cut pavers and pools in Lewes. They will use some of the recycled stone from Clean Cut.
“We can tear up the patios, bring it all back to our facilities and smash it, bring it back to the same house and create a new base and build on top of that,” Rich Bell said. “I can’t get any greener than that.”
Anyone can bring stone rubble to Georgetown Materials for free for recycling. For a fee, they will provide an on-site dumpster for large amounts of rubble collected during demolition.
Some notable rubble already recycled by Georgetown Materials is that of the HO Brittingham Elementary School in the Cape Henlopen School District, formerly of Milton.
The rubble is processed through a concrete crusher (a $600,000 investment, Bell said) and sold to construction companies, landscapers, and even the Delaware Department of Transportation, Bell said. There is no reduction in the quality of the recycled product, he said.
Georgetown Materials, located on Airport Road, backs onto the train tracks. The Bells added a 1,000 foot branch line to allow trains to enter the property and bring in all types of construction rubble.
This created an unforeseen business opportunity.
“It’s really exciting to use the railway, where it seems to have diminished over the years. The railroad is super excited that we did (the branch line),” Bell said. “Anyone can use it and we offload it and get paid for it. There was no place to do that in Georgetown before.
So far, malt and azomite (a chicken feed additive) are transported by rail to Georgetown Materials and collected by local breweries and poultry processors respectively, according to Bell.
Currently, Georgetown Materials is operating under a “soft opening,” Bell said. They accept rubble, but come spring they will have landscaping materials, decorative stone, and building stone available for sale.
They built another building along the road, with two commercial units available for rent. Bell hopes for a general store/sandwich shop and a hardware store.