Aggregates are crystalline or granular rocks that are extracted for use in the construction industry. These can be either primary aggregates (extracted from the ground in quarries) or secondary aggregates (recycled from construction waste). Aggregates are an essential material in building and repairing things such as roads, railways and homes. The following pages provide an introduction to aggregates, alongside a geological summary of the primary aggregate sources across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Different organisations may define aggregates in different ways. For example, the aggregates industry and British Geological Survey define a material as an aggregate if it is used within the construction industry. The range of materials classified as aggregates by these organisations is broad and includes the raw materials used in the manufacture of building materials, such as lime. By comparison, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and HM Revenue and Customs have a much more specific list of recognised aggregates, mostly confined to sand, gravel and rock chippings, which are subject to the Aggregates Levy; an environmental tax on UK-produced commercial aggregate.
Further information on defining aggregates can be found through the web links below.
British Aggregates Association
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