Recycling of Asphalt Leaps 11%, Shingles 57%, Production of Warm Mix 148%

NAPA RAP, RAS, WMA survey shows remarkable improvement from 2009 to 2010 of asphalt pavement industry's leadership in environmental stewardship

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NAPA announces the publication of a new survey of asphalt pavement usage which it completed under contract to the Federal Highway Administration. The survey covers the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), and warm mix asphalt (WMA) in 2009 and 2010. An appendix also includes state-by-state usage data of RAP, RAS, WMA, and hot mix asphalt.

The survey shows that the asphalt pavement industry continues to improve its already outstanding record of environmental stewardship through its increasing use of RAP, RAS, and WMA. These technologies conserve raw materials; conserve energy; cut emissions from production and paving operations; and improve conditions for workers.

RAP: The asphalt industry remains the country's number one recycler. The amount of RAP used in HMA/WMA was 56.0 million tons in 2009 and 62.1 million tons in 2010. Assuming 5 percent liquid asphalt in RAP, this represents over 3 million tons (19 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved. About 96 percent of the contractors/ branches reported using RAP. Less than 1 percent of RAP was sent to landfills.

RAS: Use of reclaimed asphalt shingles (both manufacturer's waste and tear-offs) increased from 702,000 tons to 1.10 million tons from 2009 to 2010, a 57 percent increase. Assuming conservative asphalt content of 20 percent for the shingles, this represents 234,000 tons (1.5 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved.

WMA: Total tonnage of WMA is estimated at 19.2 million tons in 2009 and 47.6 million tons in 2010. This was a 148 percent increase. Plant foaming is used most often in producing WMA. Additives accounted for about 17 percent of the total WMA production in 2009 and 8 percent in 2010.

Click here to view/download the survey. Other reports include Appendix A and Appendix B. Please be aware before printing that Appendix B is 148 pages long.

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