Frequently Asked Questions:
QUESTION: Is Asphalt Recylable?
A: Yes, you can recycle asphalt. It is 100 percent recyclable.
QUESTION: Is Asphalt Currently the Most Recycled Type of Material In The United States?
A: Yes, it is. According to the Federal Highway Administration, about 73 million tons of RAP or Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (recycled asphalt) is reused every single year. This amount is nearly two times as much as paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum recyclable materials combined.
QUESTION: What Is RAP?
A: It stands for ‘Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement’. RAP is an asphalt pavement material which has been recycled (or reprocessed) after being removed from paved surfaces.
QUESTION: Where Does RAP Come From?
A: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement or RAP is obtained typically from asphalt pavement surfaces that are milled off before repavings. It also comes from asphalt that is removed during repairs of pavements or prior to replacing pavement. Most RAP materials come from removed roadways, driveways, parking lots, airports and highways as the byproduct of asphalt pavement. On huge projects such as airports or highways, RAP is pulled out using a milling machine, which then later grinds the asphalt into tiny pieces. On smaller jobs like roadways, utility repairs, and driveways, a back hoe or skid-steer is used for removing the asphalt pavements.
QUESTION: How is Asphalt Recycled?
A: First, asphalt chunks or millings are loaded up into the asphalt recycler then the recycler heats and mixes the material. The hot mix asphalt becomes about 300F degrees hot after some 20 minutes of heating, hence ready for conventional laydown.
QUESTION: How is Asphalt Recycled in Hot Mix Asphalt Plants?
A: First the broken chunk asphalts and/or RAP millings are crushed to the appropriate size and then screened. Then, using the special plant RAP collar fitting, the RAP is incorporated to the mixture along with some virgin materials. Hot mix asphalt plants are able to recycle 30 percent (and sometimes even more) RAP into the final asphalt mix.
QUESTION: What is RAP Composed of?
A: RAP or Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement is a mix or composition of high-quality, premium-grade aggregate, coated on the outside with asphalt cement.
QUESTION: What is the Asphalt Content of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement or RAP?
A: The typicaly asphalt content of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement or RAP is around 4 to 6 percent virgin asphalt.
QUESTION: How Do Contractors Dispose of RAP?
A: Many pavement contractors do not have their own facility for reusing RAP or for crushing and screening, or processing it. Instead of paying a landfill a tipping fee, the contractor often pays a small fee at the hot mix plant to reprocess the RAP to recycle it and resell it.
QUESTION: What Are The Benefits of 100 Percent Asphalt Recycling to Municipalities And Paving Contractors?
A: Asphalt recycling benefits counties, highway departments, states, cities and paving contractors. It provides benefits mainly by eliminating RAP disposal costs, reducing reliance on hot mix plants, increasing profitability, and giving them the ability to produce hot-mix materials 24/7 while decreasing labor costs. Best of all, asphalt recycling is good for the enviroment.
QUESTION: What Are the Cost Benefist of 100 Percent Asphalt Recycling?
A: Asphalt Recycling has a savings or profit potential of $30.00 to $80.00 USD per ton of material recycled. Municipalities and pavement contractors can recycle RAP materials for $18.00 USD per ton approximately via using a PT-PRO Recycler. If at the asphalt plant you purchased a hot mix costing you $78.00 per ton, then you acquire a beneficial cost savings of $60.00 per ton. Thus, if an operator recycles 50 tons of RAP daily for 30 days, then he yields a total of $90,000 USD in savings or profit. Note: The wide range of savings is related directly to current asphalt cost across the US.
QUESTION: Are There Carbon Savings From 100 Percent Asphalt Recycling?
A: According to a UK study conducted in 2007 by the Accord Highways and Stafford-shire County Council, the VEB Asphalt Recycler recycled about 2,500 metric tons of reusable asphalt and produced a total of 1,596 tons worth of reduced carbon emissions!
QUESTION: How Good Is Asphalt Recycling For The Environment?
A: Compared to producing virgin asphalt materials, recycling asphalt is very good for the environment in many different ways. Particularly, it helps reduce mining, quarrying, and oil consumption. Approximately 75 million tons of RAP is recycled every year, thus reducing our consumption of scarce (aggregate and asphalt) natural resources, at the same time keeping 75 million tons of materials out of landfills. Other resources that asphalt recycling helps dramatically reduce are: fuel consumption, use of transportation and machinery, and labor costs.
QUESTION: Is 100 Percent Recycled or Reprocessed Asphalt Highly Durable?
A: Yes, high-grade RAP with adequate asphalt content, or one that is ‘properly’ recycled (properly mixed and not overheated) performs nearly the same or as durable as virgin asphalt.
QUESTION: What is the Life Expectancy of Using 100 Percent Recycled Hot-Mix Asphalt?
A: Among the biggest factors that affect the material performance of both recycled and virgin asphalt are proper preparation, suitability of the repair site, and its recycling crews’ adequate compaction. But overall, the results are more or less similar to that of the use of virgin hot-mix asphalt.