When driving into the Cardi Corporation it is pretty hard to miss the mountains of recycled materials spread out across the lot.

Stephen A Cardi Sr., secretary treasurer of Cardi Corporation in Warwick, estimates more than a couple hundred thousand tons of recycled concrete, asphalt and other materials are stored on their Lincoln Avenue location.

The corporation, which began with Antonio Cardi in 1900, has grown to be one of the largest construction firms in the northeast, focusing on commercial highway, concrete and asphalt construction.

Their recycling efforts, though, didn’t started until after the energy crisis in the 1970s.

When the crisis hit in 1973 the price of oils and materials skyrocketed, leading the government and business leaders to search for ways to “get the most miles out of a dollar.”

Recycling became an easy way to save. This is when Cardi Corporation began utilizing materials on site, using portable concrete crushers to create gravel that could be used as a base in a project.

Originally, when digging up concrete or asphalt construction firms would just “throw it away” and then have to excavate new gravel to import it for a project.

“We are saving natural resources,” Cardi said. “You get rid of less materials that way. You can use it instead of just dumping it.”

In 1980s the corporation moved to their current location with plans of creating a permanent recycling plant and since then they have only expanded their efforts recycling more and more materials. These materials are then re-purposed for other Cardi projects.

One of their biggest recycled materials is reclaimed asphalt.

When a road is at the point it can’t be repaired and must be reconstructed, Cardi Corporation uses a machine equipped with a large drum covered in teeth that breaks up the asphalt.

On top of saving the company money by reusing materials instead of purchasing brand new ones, “it ends up forming a better base to boot,” Cardi said.

Similarly, when there is leftover concrete from a job, it can be brought back to base and separated into sand, stone and a watery slurry. These materials are rewashed, processed and then available to make a new batch of concrete for another job.

“We try and find ways to use everything onsite while maintaining the quality of our final product,” Cardi said. “It’s a regular necessity, why not use what’s there?”

He said that unless prohibited by any specific client Cardi Corporation uses recycled materials in all of their projects. When the company was working on the I-way project, “every ounce of materials was recycled.”

Recycling has only become more important as natural resources are becoming a scarcity. Currently, Cardi said the U.S. National Coast and Geodetic Survey estimated around 2 percent of Rhode Island’s gravel and resources are available due to zoning and population control.

“That’s teeny,” Cardi said.

He said in his lifetime alone the country’s population has gone from 140 million in 1941 to nearly 320 million today.

“The population is only going to grow. And where are those people going to be?” Cardi said. “Obviously, they need to live somewhere, covering more ground. That is only going to add more pressure on the availability of materials. Recycling is just common sense.”

Oil is also necessary for Cardi’s processes to make and use materials, but instead importing he thinks recycling is the best method of obtaining oil.

“When we have a natural reservoir built up in our existing roads why not just use what’s already in the road?” he said.

Not only is Cardi Corporation saving money thanks to their recycling efforts, but so is the taxpayer. Because Cardi can bid lower on public projects, “The taxpayer is getting more bang for their buck.”

Having been in the recycling game for a while now, Cardi said his only concern about recycling is how viable some recycling techniques may be years down the road. He explained some companies use ground up rubber tires in their materials and he wondered how recyclable that would be in the future.

“What do you do when roads aren’t recyclable anymore? What do you do then?” he said.

Despite these worries, Cardi says his company will continue to use recycled materials, trying to help preserve natural resources left and providing savings for the state’s taxpayers.

For more information on the Cardi Corporation visit their website at www.cardi.com.