Asphalt paving has adopted significant green and environmental practices such as using recycled asphalt shingles and reclaimed ashphalt pavement. Warm-mix asphalt is still used, but $2.2 billion was saved during the 2011 paving season, according to the National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA), by using recycled materials. Asphalt Paving from Precision Paving Company is a leader in this effort.
According to NAPA, 21.2 million barrels of liquid binder were saved by using the recycled materials in 2011. Warm mixed asphalt accounted for only nineteen percent of all asphalt produced.
Reclaimed ashphalt pavement accounted for 66.7 million tons in 2011, Usage has been steadily increasing with a seven percent and nineteen percent increase from 2010 and 2011.
Asphalt pavement recycled from roads, nearly 99 percent, was used in new pavements and other projects. According to a NAPA survey, 98 percent of asphalt producers are using reclaimed asphalt pavement. Asphalt Paving in Riverside, CA is included.
RAS usage also continued to climb, increasing to 1.2 million tons in 2011; an 8 percent increase over 2010, and a 52.5 percent increase since 2009. Since 2009, RAS usage has been reported in 36 states. RAS includes both manufacturers’ scrap shingles, and discarded consumer roofing shingles.
In 2011, total WMA tonnage in the U.S. was estimated at about 69 million tons, a 67 percent increase from 2010 and a nearly 309 percent increase since 2009.
Pavement preservation using a thin asphalt overlay has become a popular approach to preserving pavement. The asphalt overlay improves ride quality, reduces pavement distress, decreases noise levels, surface geometrics are maintained, reduces life cycle costs while providing longer service.
NAPA helped complete a thin asphalt overlay test that used warm-mix asphalt and recycled materials in Nashville, Tenn. This process was completed on tenth street that has many cuts for utility installations and repairs. It is estimated by the Tennessee Road Builders Association that tenth street will have 10 more years of life. The project which was completed in 2012 was a NAPA instructional demonstration.
