By continuing to commit to recycling, the need for virgin Next time you’re driving down the road, take a moment to appreciate the asphalt that paves 94 percent of the more than 2.7 million miles of our roads and highways.
Asphalt forms a sustainable option for paving, providing a smoother and quieter ride than many other options. Demolition companies in Oregon play an integral part in the cycle that takes reclaimed assets and recycles them into usable materials that help pave America’s roads.
In a report to Congress in 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Highway Administration “identified asphalt pavement as America’s No. 1 recycled product.” This continues today, as the material is “reclaimed and reused at a greater rate than any other product in the U.S.” Industrial demolition contractors contribute to this important part of the recycling process through asset recovery.
Demolition companies in Oregon are finding reclaimed asphalt to be a lucrative reclaimed asset. While concrete and steel are the traditional mainstays of industrial demolition companies, asphalt shingles are quickly catching up. 99 percent of asphalt pavement material removed from roads in 2017 was put back into productive use. With the use of these recycled materials around “50 million cubic yards of landfill space” is saved each year. That is a huge amount of waste diverted from our landfills!
How is reclaimed asphalt used?
The use of warm-mix asphalt, used to reprocess pavement and shingles into usable asphalt products, has increased by 36 percent in 2017 – and continues to increase. Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is used in many roadway improvement projects, including as base, fill, shoulders, alleys, and more. It is more cost-effective to use RAP in hot-mix asphalt rather than virgin concrete and aggregate. The recycling of RAP and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) means less material is sent to landfills and fewer emissions are released.
Green asset recovery is a win-win for industrial demolition companies and for the environment. Companies can even earn revenue from the sale of recyclable materials and avoid expensive disposal costs. Not only are there financial benefits to companies, “It is estimated that recycling of asphalt pavements saves the American taxpayer more than $2.5 billion per year.”
By continuing to commit to Oregon’s goals of reducing waste, demolition companies can have a massive impact. With “more than 90 percent” of debris coming from construction and demolition projects, this means that industrial demolition companies are uniquely positioned to have a massive positive impact on the environment. The best way to move forward? Taking advantage of asset recovery services offered by demolition companies.
What other materials can be recycled?
In addition to recovering asphalt shingles and pavement there are opportunities for even more lucrative income streams by recycling materials such as:
- Building materials, including pipes, windows, doors, bricks, beams, and more.
- Metals including copper, steel, and aluminium.
- Concrete, which can be used in foundations, structural fill, and making new concrete.
- Equipment including HVAC units, generators, and machinery.
Recycling:
- Saves up to “28 trillion BTUs of energy, almost 3 percent of the state’s energy use.”
- Reduces Oregon’s “carbon dioxide emissions by 2.9 million metric tons (roughly 4.6 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions).
If your next demolition project will require the reclamation of asphalt materials, consider taking advantage of demolition asset recovery services.