asphalt economy

Recycling Matters: The Asphalt Economy

With climate change and global warming becoming more of a serious issue, asphalt recycling is more important than ever. Asphalt, also called bitumen, is a material similar to petroleum that is formed from the distillation of crude oil and is frequently used for paving roads, waterproofing surfaces, and making roof shingles. It is prized for its versatile qualities, making it a 100% renewable resource, especially for construction.

The asphalt economy depends on the material’s reusability. Old asphalt can be recycled by going through a process that pulls out the good asphalt from the waste. Each year almost all of the asphalt pavement in the U.S. is gathered through this process. 

Reusing asphalt can help everyone. Recycling asphalt protects our atmosphere from greenhouse gases and lessens the possibility of shingle waste ending up in landfills while decreasing manufacturing/processing costs and saving Americans billions of dollars in tax. The success of the asphalt recovery market is also being shared with the shingle recovery market as roofing recovery places increase in multiple states and asphalt demands continue to increase. Vermont has even passed a law making shingle recycling mandatory, something that could extend to other states as well.

Recycling asphalt shingles involves a milling, mixing, extracting, and distilling process that helps separate bitumen oil from the shingle using a solvent. 95% of the asphalt and bitumen are recovered through the four-step proprietary extraction process, which allows asphalt, asphalt shingles, and bitumen oil to be used once again. 

Asphalt recycling has never mattered as much as it does right now.

The Asphalt Economy - Asphalt Recycling Matters More Than Ever
Source: InvestSkyQuarry.com