ARRA President Greg Brown reviews how road managers use in-place recycling to sustain pavement quality – at minimum cost and minimum interruption to road users. 

It is a reasonable question. Where would we be without the processes that the Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association represent? The environmental, technical, and economical benefits of asphalt recycling can no longer be questioned. Every year we talk about the rising costs of oil and oil-based products, and every year the prices keep going higher. The value that asphalt recycling creates grows more and more each year. Take a look at where we might be without the in-place recycling processes available today:

Hot In-Place Recycling: Without this process agencies would not have the most efficient solution to pavement surface problems. Much more RAP would be generated due to mill-and-fill techniques creating millions of tons of excess material. Speed of construction would be slowed, and potentially dangerous lane drop-offs would be created. The cost of resurfacing the top inch or two of pavement would increase by as much as 100%. When hot in-place recycling processes are producing mixes with equivalent characteristics to virgin hot mix at a fraction of the price, why aren’t we doing even more?

Cold In-Place Recycling: What would you do when you have a mildly to severely distressed pavement where the deformities run several inches deep? What if the pavement is rutted or has a layer of stripped material? Would you overlay with some very expensive hot mix? Would you remove and replace? Even the best of hot mixes will reflect the pavement deformities below. More and more agencies are discovering the value of cold in-place recycling. It lets you address a multitude of pavement problems, produce a high quality pavement layer, and provide a platform for expensive hot mix to perform at its best.

Full-Depth Reclamation: Without this process, what would we do with pavements in which there seems to be no solution? Tear them out and replace them? If you have a severely distressed pavement, why not reuse what you’ve got, speed up construction time, and fix all of your problems in-place? Full-depth reclamation can eliminate all of the problems with the asphalt layer and create a structurally sound base, saving time, transportation costs, and raw materials.

All of the in-place recycling methods provide tremendous benefits. We tend to focus on cost foremost, because if it is not cost-effective, we probably would not recycle. Asphalt is the most recycled product in America because of its many benefits. In addition to being cost effective, it provides quick solutions to problems, thus minimizing lane closures.  

By recycling in-place we reduce the usage of raw materials and their transportation costs and the damage haul trucks do to the roads.  Inherent in any recycling technique are the environmental benefits of conserving natural resources and reducing emissions. Technically, in-place recycling provides outstanding engineering properties which help our pavements last much longer. The final question we have to ask ourselves is...Why aren’t we doing even more?