Sussex business recycles stone, rubble, creates railroad opportunity

A new stone recycling business has opened in Georgetown, complete with its own set of train tracks. 

“We’re recycling blacktop and concrete rubble, crushing it to resell and saving it from going to the landfill,” said co-owner Rich Bell. 

Georgetown Materials is the second business of Rich and Jennifer Bell, who already own Clean Cut Pavers and Pools in Lewes. They’ll utilize some of the recycled stone at Clean Cut. 

“We can rip up patios, bring it all back to our facility and crush it, take it back to the same house and make a new base and build on top of that,” Rich Bell said. “Can’t get any greener than that.” 

Anyone can bring stone rubble to Georgetown Materials for recycling, free of charge. For a fee, they’ll provide an on-site dumpster for large amounts of rubble gathered during demolition.  

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Some notable rubble already recycled by Georgetown Materials is that of the Cape Henlopen School District’s H.O. Brittingham Elementary School, formerly of Milton. 

Rubble is processed by a concrete crusher (a $600,000 investment, according to Bell) and sold to construction companies, landscapers, even the Delaware Department of Transportation, Bell said. There is no quality reduction in the recycled product, he said. 

Georgetown Materials, located on Airport Road, backs up to railroad tracks. The Bells added a 1,000-foot spur line to allow trains to enter the property and bring all types of construction rubble.  

That created an unforeseen business opportunity.  

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“It’s really exciting to be utilizing the railroad, where that seems to have diminished as the years went on. The railroad is super excited we did (the spur line),” Bell said. “Anyone can use it and we unload it and get paid for that. There wasn’t a place to do that in Georgetown prior.” 

So far, malt and azomite (a chicken feed additive) are being transported by train to Georgetown Materials and picked up by local breweries and poultry processors, respectively, according to Bell. 

Right now, Georgetown Materials is operating under a “soft opening,” Bell said. They’re accepting rubble, but by spring, they’ll have a landscaping materials, decorative stone and construction stone available for sale.