Riv/Crete Environmental

Riv/Crete Ready Mix is a family-owned business based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our company is focused on providing our customers with the best service and highest quality concrete in the Milwaukee market. Along with that focus we also believe our company has a responsibility is to minimize our environmental impact as best we can. Here are just a few of the impacts we are making.

Carbon Cure

Concrete is the most used man-made material on earth and is second only to consumption of water. Concrete itself has a minimal impact on the environment. However, the main ingredient used to make concrete is called cement which emits Co2 during its production process. Roughly every ton of cement that is produced releases .90 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. The cement industry is undergoing a major transition in cement production reducing their emissions by almost 10%. Coinciding with this change is the introduction of a cutting-edge technology called Carbon Cure.

Cabon Cure technology injects captured Co2 into concrete during the mixing process. A chemical reaction occurs converting the gas back into particle size grains of limestone. This chemical reaction provides additional strength to our concrete mixes allowing us to use less cement in the manufacturing process and still maintain our strength requirements. When the chemical reaction occurs it permanently locks captured carbon dioxide in concrete. Even if the concrete is demolished, mineralized Co2 will never leak or return to the atmosphere.


Concrete Waste

We have zero waste in our concrete production because we use or re-use 100% of the material we produce. Any leftover concrete not used by our customers is returned to the concrete plant where it was originally manufactured and used to make concrete block or become road base. We have not landfilled returned concrete in over a decade.

Concrete Block

Returned concrete is poured into metal forms to become concrete bin block. These 2x2x4 bin block interlock and stack to form large storage areas that are ideal for landscapers, salt storage, or even concrete companies.

Road Base

Returned concrete that is not used to make concrete block is dumped into large piles that will eventually be crushed and converted into road base. This material is used to establish a durable surface for eventual roads and streets that our vehicles travel on.

Clean Burn

Concrete trucks require frequent oil changes to run efficiently and help prevent mechanical breakdowns. The amount of oil required to maintain our fleet is significant and burdensome to store and dispose. To address this issue Riv/Crete invested in a system called Clean Burn. The Clean Burn system uses "old" oil as its fuel source for heating our mechanic's garage. Throughout the year we store the used oil in an environmentally safe container. During the winter months we then tap into this fuel source to keep our mechanics warm while recycling the "old" oil as our fuel source.
“You guys were outstanding! Great concrete, great service, great communication. We could not have asked for a better ready-mix company to work with.”
/ Chuck Vitale, Owner of Vee Jay Construction
“Congratulations you guys have done an incredible job of improving your company's safety programs your new MOD is really an impressive accomplishment.”
/ Brad Hallmark, Vizance Insurance
“In my opinion, I think concrete buildings are the best buildings in the world.”
/ Rick Barrett, Developer of "The Couture"
“I very much appreciated all the help your team gave me this past summer and wanted to let them know how awesome of a job they did with as much as I had going on. We poured multiple times every day. With all the projects going on we worked together and don't think I missed one deadline which is amazing.”
/ Chris Zorzin, Findorff Superintendent
“Thank you for all of the time you and your team took last week. We've toured a bunch of stuff this past semester, but touring Rivcrete was by far my favorite. It's companies like yours that help the CLC club succeed and make me excited to graduate college and start my career in the construction industry!”
/ Chandler Baures, Findorff P.M.
“I'm not aware of any other company in the region that has gone to this extent to reduce their carbon impact more than Riv/Crete Ready Mix. They are the clear-cut leaders in their industry.”
/ Colton Flint, Command Alkon
“I would like to thank you for hosting MSOE: ASCE, ITE, and Pavement Design course. Everyone was extremely happy with the tour, and I cannot thank you enough for the hospitality and kindness that all the tour guides displayed. It was such a pleasure to learn and meet you all and I appreciate the patience when answering all our questions. It was such a cool experience!”
/ Kris Banse, Past ASCE Student President
“The credit is due to the Riv-Crete team for supplying in spec material on a timely basis all night even as ice rates were modified throughout the pour to keep temps where they needed to be. WisDOT IA rep who was on site commented that he had seen less than a dozen deck pours of that size have in spec material the entire pour.”
/ Philip Meinholz, P.E. Structural Engineer
“Riv/Crete Ready Mix is a valued producer member of the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association (WRMCA). Nicholas Rivecca is a respected past president of the WRMCA.”
/ Cherish Schween, Executive Director of WRMCA