The use of concrete as a building material has exploded in recent years. Nowadays it is not at all uncommon to find concrete used not only in driveways and sidewalks but also in building construction, patios, retaining walls, and the like. Concrete's long life coupled with no-care beauty and affordable cost make it a very popular material for many such applications.
Concrete is often delivered to project sites by ready-mix concrete trucks. As it can be difficult to determine exactly how much concrete is needed for a particular job and since no one wants to run out of concrete during a pour it is not at all uncommon for a job site to order more ready-mix concrete then is needed and then to return the excess to the concrete plant. Such excess concrete is usually separated back into its constituent components using an on-site concrete re-claimer. That way the concrete can be used in future concrete batches.
On-site re-claimers are generally expensive, require a separate power source, and are fixed regarding their location and ability to handle multiple trucks. Accordingly, there exists a need for an apparatus and a method of reclaiming concrete from ready-mix concrete trucks without using a fixed site concrete re-claimer. Ideally such a concrete recycling apparatus and method would provide for reclaiming concrete directly from ready-mix concrete trucks in a manner which is quick, easy, and effective.