EXPERT ADVICE
RECYCLED/RECLAIMED ASPHALT
Saves money and the environment by Jeff Winke
H
Hands down, recycled or reclaimed
asphalt pavement (RAP) is America’s
most recycled material.
A report from the Federal Highway
Administration shows that 80 percent
of the asphalt pavement that’s removed
each year during widening and resurfacing
projects is reused. That percent is substantially
higher than the Environmental
Protection Agency’s comparison recycling
rates of 60 percent for aluminum cans, 56
percent for newsprint, 37 percent for plastic
soft drink bottles, 31 percent for glass
beverage bottles and 23 percent for magazines.
Interestingly, in a survey of 1,009
adults commissioned by the National
Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA),
Americans ranked asphalt pavement as
the material they thought was recycled
the least among nine commonly recycled
products.
One can say that RAP was “green,”
before the term living green meant
making lifestyle decisions and engaging in
practices which reduce negative impact on
and promote the health of the planet and
its creatures. Recycled asphalt pavement
is not only ecologically sound, but it is
an effective choice for the reconstruction,
repair, or replacement of worn asphalt
pavement.
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness
of reclaimed asphalt, the National
Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA)
partnered with the FHA with the goal
of quantifying the impact of RAP. They
wrote: “According to the latest survey
data, during the 2016 construction season
more than 76.9 million tons of RAP
and nearly 1.4 million tons of recycled
asphalt shingles (RAS) were put to use
in new pavements in the United States,
saving taxpayers more than $2.1 billion.
Also, more than 30 percent of all asphalt
pavement mixture produced in the country
that year was made using warm-mix
asphalt (WMA) technologies.”
Milling and full-depth removal remain
the two main ways reclaimed asphalt is
made.
When talking about asphalt recycling,
there are a few different methods that are
considered “asphalt recycling.”
Michael Blake, director of marketing
For More Information On This Advertiser Please Visit www.CallAPE.com/e-inquiry
1.800.210.5923 [15]
July 2020