When you think of asphalt, you think roads, pavements or driveways, but would it surprise you to know that asphalt makes its way to roofing shingles, tennis courts or even the linings of fish hatcheries?
With its flexible, waterproof and adhesive qualities, asphalt is not only the most popular choice as road paving material, but it is widely used for sealing and insulating a wide range of building materials such as paints, pipe coatings or carpet tile backings. Is your commercial property using green paving? Ask your local paving contractors in the Cambridge area about recycled asphalt before you schedule your next paving service appointment.
An interesting, but little-known fact about asphalt is that it is ecofriendly and happens to be the most recycled material in North America. The amount of asphalt recycling far exceeds other consumables such as newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic or glass. In fact, 80% of the old asphalt that is removed from roadways every year is repurposed and reused in construction and roadwork.
Municipalities, industrial buildings, institutional premises, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and more across the Cambridge area are committed to helping save the environment. You can do your part by choosing green paving and recycled asphalt for your driveways, walkways, parking lots and roads.
Here are some insights into asphalt recycling and its benefits to the environment, as well as businesses.
The ABCs of Recycled Asphalt
Usage
Recycled asphalt or Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is the reprocessed pavement that contains the underlying constituents of the original pavement. When processed correctly, RAP contains highly-graded materials that offer similar, if not better quality than virgin asphalt. Substituting the need for virgin asphalt, RAP can be used in any roadway or paving project, and in any mix, including the base, fill, shoulders, alleys, potholes or utility cuts.
Process
There are two main techniques for asphalt recycling: milling or full depth removal. In the milling process, a milling machine scrapes the paved surface, removing up to 2 inches of thickness of the underlying pavement at each pass. In the case of a full-depth removal, the crew rips and breaks the paved surface using stronger equipment, such as bulldozers or pneumatic pavement breakers. The broken material is then hauled and transported to a central recycling facility. Whether it is chunks, millings, plant tailings or rock, dirt and sand, all the broken components can be combined to create high quality recycled asphalt.
Benefits
There are several environmental and economic advantages of recycling old asphalt:
There is less burden on the already scarce natural resources. Reduction in quarrying and mining activities will lead to lower consumption of water and higher land preservation.
It is possible to add a number of other recyclable components such as stone, gravel and glass to the mixture while recycling asphalt. Incorporating recyclable materials in the mix reduces the need for newly mined aggregates.
It takes much less energy to produce, process and transport recycled aggregates. In addition to energy conservation, it reduces the carbon emissions and transportation costs.
By repurposing and reusing the asphalt, the amount of waste going into landfills goes down substantially. As per a report by Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), Canada discards close to 1.25 million tonnes of asphalt shingles and roofing materials into landfills every year.
As compared to the production of virgin aggregates, there is a dramatic drop in the consumption of oil, machinery, transportation and labour.
Prices of virgin asphalt are closely linked to the existing petroleum prices. However, RAP may make good business sense as it offers aggregates that are as good as new, but at much lower costs.
Green Paving Contractors in Cambridge, Kitchener, & Surrounding Areas
At K-W Cornerstone Paving Ltd, we have been providing professional asphalt paving services to clients in and around Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph, since over six decades now. In addition to quality services and superior workmanship, we strive to remain the benchmark for industry best practices, as well as environment-friendly goals. All the asphalt that we use in our projects comprises up to 30% post-consumer recycled material. Not only are we cognizant of the ecological impact of our services, we are fiercely committed to initiatives that will conserve the environment for us and our future generations.
In light of the tighter regulatory policies on recycling, our ever-growing environmental concerns, and numerous benefits that come with Recycled Asphalt Pavement, we help our clients to expand their green footprint, while efficiently fulfilling their paving requirements.
To learn more about our sustainable initiatives or request a quote for green paving with recycled asphalt, call us at 519-743-6411 or contact us online.