1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198 
OPERATOR VIEWPOINT
Page 53
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Like most quarry operators, John Wainwright. based at Moons Hill Quarry, near Bath. has also felt th aftershock of the aggregate tax.
"Over the last few years, the ta> pushed many operators to look al of providing a cheaper alternative quarried aggregates," explains K Sargant, quarry manager at Moor Hill, "We're considering the optior recycling, but it isn't the solution!
While Sargant reluctantly acce that the aggregate tax is another government stealth charge that h be absorbed by customers, he that it hasn't stopped demand for premium aggregate products.
"The difficulty is that premium products such as coated road stc and surface dressings are still in demand, and to get those produc processed for customers, we hay extract raw material from the qua he explains.
"And that raw material produce supplementary products that we identify as the lower-value aggrec such as sands, gravels, type I an II materials. And being lower valti means the aggregate tax can car up to one third of the market valu which reduces its appeal at the quarry gate."
"And these products are simpl) produced through crushing and screening to get to the higher-val premium aggregates," he says. "The result is that these lower-val aggregates are increasingly bein stockpiled around the country by many operators.
"There's even a surplus of crus concrete from recycling which s once considered a useful hardco alternative product for sub-base Sargant adds.
"Until the government embarks major road-building schemes wh raise demand for regular aggreg. the industry's stockpiles could cc to grow," he says.