EXPERT ADVICE
Producing cement, an essential component
of concrete, releases high levels of
volatile organic compounds (VOC) into the
atmosphere. VOC emissions are harmful to
the environment and contribute to ozone
depletion. Asphalt is a petroleum-based
paving material. Drilling for oil also requires
a significant amount of energy and the environmental
hazards associated with extracting
oil have been well documented.
Environmental impact does not end at
the manufacturing stage. Paving new roads
and parking lots disrupts the underlying
soil and water table. Soil beneath the paved
surface that would otherwise guide rainwater
into underground streams and eventually
into rivers and waterways immediately dries
up. Rainwater instead is channeled into
engineered drainage systems that direct the
water into municipal sewage systems before
dumping it into rivers and lakes.
Further, striping paints and sealers for
roads and parking lots often use petroleum
in their formulation and/or feature high-
VOC emissions. Although producing materials
and placing new pavement is wrought
with environmental consequences, the use
of reclaimed asphalt you can mitigate the
impact.
There are other benefits of using recycled
pavement versus new virgin asphalt.
“To me, there are three distinct benefits
to using recycled asphalt pavement--cost,
availability, and new opportunity,” stated
Greg Harla, part owner of Pavement
Recyclers/Bagela USA, Shelton, Conn. “The
cost with large volumes of recycled blacktop
can cost as little as $19 per ton, all in. With
regard to availability, RAP can be produced
any time, anywhere. In many parts of the
country, asphalt production plants close
for the off-season, so many, many of our
customers can continue to work, installing
infrastructure, patching/repairing, etc. And
with respect to new opportunity, quite a few
of our customers sell material during the
off-season using their Bagela recycler.”
In terms of durability, RAP matches new
asphalt.
“In pothole repair operations, RAP is
generally considered to be a very acceptable
product from a durability standpoint,”
Simon said. “In most operations that we see,
recycled asphalt product can be used to produce
very high-quality, long-lasting pothole
repairs.”
Reclaimed asphalt definitely has its role.
“Like any asphalt application, the durability
and longevity will depend on the
application method and preparation,” Blake
stated. “If the recycled asphalt was produced
properly--meaning it encompasses 3-5%
asphalt cement and all other factors are
equal--RAP could last just as long as virgin
hot mix asphalt.”
Harla said: “Several of our customers,
that strictly pave, will use recycled mix for
the base and top with graded plant mix. By
doing so, the recycled mix provides a strong
base and the thinner top, is icing on the
cake!”
Recycled asphalt pavement is a useful
alternative to virgin materials because it
reduces the need to use virgin aggregate,
which is a scarce commodity in some areas of
the United States. It also reduces the amount
of costly new asphalt binder required in the
production of asphalt paving mixtures.
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