Welcome back to the Sunrise Asphalt blog! This time around we are going to go deep in the asphalt industry news looking at a report published by National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) earlier this year! The report details their findings on putting new technologies to use to make longer lasting asphalt and increase energy efficiency, amongst other things This is the 8th year they have put out the survey and report and the news is getting better and better!
2017 – The Year We Recycle Asphalt!
Asphalt is consistently the most recycled material in the United States! The NAPA survey found that almost 100% of asphalt that was removed from lots and roads last year was immediately put back to use. Nearly 79 million tons of materials, including reclaimed asphalt material and roofing shingles, were recycled into new asphalt mixes. Asphalt isn’t the only tough material seeing new life through new asphalt mixes either, things like ground tire rubber, furnace slag, and more are used.
Of that, an estimated 77 million tons of reclaimed asphalt and recycled shingles were used in new asphalt mixes. By the end of the year, there was over 100 million tons of recycled asphalt materials stored for future use, saving huge amounts of space in landfills
The NAPA President Mike Acott had this to say on the matter,
“Through engineering, performance-based specifications, and improved RAP processing, production equipment, and procedures, we are creating asphalt pavement mixtures that successfully incorporate reclaimed and recycled materials. However, there is still room to improve, and we are supporting research and education efforts to keep the use of these cost-effective, environmentally friendly asphalt mixtures growing.”
Energy Efficient Warm-Mix
Asphalt and the process of producing it is becoming more and more efficient every year. Warm-mix asphalt processes are a perfect example! Warm-mix allows for asphalt to be created at lower temperatures, requiring less fuel to get there making the process as a whole more energy efficient.
Warm-mix has a whole host of benefits: it reduces the paving costs, lets asphalt companies like Sunrise Asphalt pave longer throughout the year, improves compaction, can be hauled further, and improves the conditions for workers to boot! Last time we mentioned OSHA’s lack of standards when it came to fumes and the like, well with warm-mix there is less exposure to those fumes and emissions!
As warm-mix becomes more and more popular, the industry as a whole will improve in a huge number of ways, not just the energy efficiency. Luckily, warm-mix already makes up roughly a third of all asphalt produced since 2013 and making up more than half of the asphalt produced in over a dozen states. The more and more it sees use, the better.
Some quick, important details! This report is compiled from survey results. Those results came from 238 companies, over 1,000 plants (in all 50 states) and from 32 different state asphalt associations. The information is as such, not 100% accurate but is thorough enough to give a clear picture on the state of affairs.
You can find the full 46-page report here.
Recycled asphalt saves companies energy, money, and drastically reduces waste. Meanwhile, it is also estimated to save American taxpayers over $2.5 billion a year! Less asphalt ends up in landfills, saving space there. All of these benefits and the quality of the asphalt is just as high as completely new asphalt! The technologies our industry is developing and putting to use are doing our part to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
If you are looking to get a lot or road paved, and want to work with a responsible, trustworthy company, contact us here at Sunrise Asphalt and together we can pave the way.
