Cement tub

Sand piles (aka cement tubs or pies ) are obstacles found in the original Donkey Kong and the Game Boy game.

Donkey Kong
Sand piles are found only in the 50m level in the original Donkey Kong. They are on the multiple conveyor belts that are in the level, and if Mario touches one, he loses a life. The only way to destroy a sand pile is to use a hammer.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
In the Game Boy game, sand piles appear only in the remake of 50m.

Donkey Kong 64
Since Donkey Kong 64 contains an exact replica of the original Donkey Kong, playable via an arcade cabinet found in Frantic Factory, sand piles are present yet again within the said Nintendo 64 game.