Asphalt mix producers: The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) need to hear from you by May 31 about your use of warm-mix asphalt and reclaimed/recycled materials. NAPA, in partnership with FHWA, is conducting a confidential industry-wide survey of 2013 production levels and the use of recycled materials and warm mix.
“Recycled materials and warm-mix asphalt technologies are critical to the sustainable future of the asphalt pavement industry. We need your help in benchmarking the industry’s progress in putting sustainable practices into use,” stated Kent Hansen, NAPA Director of Engineering, who is administering the survey.
NAPA and FHWA have tracked usage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) since the 2009 construction season. The results from the 2012 construction season were released in January and showed that the use of reclaimed materials alone conserved about 3.8 million tons of virgin liquid asphalt binder for a cost savings of more than $2.3 billion.
From 2009 to 2012, this survey has documented a 22 percent increase in RAP use, a 165 percent increase in RAS use, and a 416 percent increase in WMA use. In 2012, WMA was nearly a quarter of the total asphalt mixture market. Full results of the 2012 survey are available at www.AsphaltPavement.org/recycling.
Asphalt mix producers may participate in the confidential survey by clicking here. The deadline for responses is May 31. It is recommended that respondents download a printed version of the survey here to ensure that all the relevant data is at hand before beginning the process. Survey participants will receive a complimentary copy of the report once it is released.
Data from the survey will be kept completely confidential and will be used only for the purposes of determining quantities. Data will be reported by state only, and no company-specific information will be disclosed or used for any purpose.
Because data is being aggregated by state, companies or branches active in more than one state need to complete a separate questionnaire for the mixes produced for each state. If a plant provides mix for more than one state, the tonnage should be divided accordingly.
The 2012 survey included responses from 48 states and Puerto Rico. Responses from all 50 U.S. states, the territories, and the District of Columbia are desired for the current survey.
The 2013 survey also asks about other reclaimed materials used in asphalt mixtures, such as ground-tire rubber and slag. Data about the use of these materials was first gathered in the 2012 survey and is being used to provide a fuller picture of how asphalt mixtures can put waste materials to good use.
Survey results will be shared with the industry, and agencies to help in the implementation of recycling and warm-mix technologies, as well as to broaden public understanding of the sustainable nature of asphalt pavements.
