Green thinking is paving its way onto city streets and county roads.

It hasn''t always been common practice, but these days more and more companies are seeing the benefits of using recycled materials to pave roads.

In fact, contractors are now required to have an approved quality control plan detailing how recycled asphalt pavement will be reclaimed and reused.

"We are strongly supportive of recycling efforts in our industry," said Tom Peterson, Executive Director of the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association, a trade group that represents paving companies. "We''ve partnered with City of Colorado Springs Public Works Department and the El Paso County Department of Transportation to develop new paving standards that allow up to 25 percent recycled materials in the asphalt used with roadway projects. "

Previously, only 10 to 15 percent recycled materials were allowed.

Another international trade group, the Asphalt Pavement Alliance said that while those outside the industry might not be aware of it, the asphalt industry is a national leader in recycling - recycling twice as much asphalt pavement as the amount of all paper, glass, plastic and aluminum combined that is recycled.

And, the green roadway mentality can be seen in how much is spent in "green" road projects.

In the Pikes Peak region, the city, county and Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority invest between $20 million and $30 million each year into new and rehabilitated asphalt pavements.

"Both the county and the city have been backing recycled asphalt and that is not always the case in other cities," said Scott Davis, vice president of Schmidt Construction Company, which has been recycling asphalt for more than 20 years.

The Federal Highway Administration estimates 100 million tons of asphalt pavement is scraped or "milled" off roads each year during resurfacing and widening projects. Of that, 80.3 million tons are reclaimed and reused on roads, roadbeds, shoulders and embankments.

Davis said recycling saves money on the cost of liquid oil needed for paving and supplies resources that are becoming scarce.

"It''s a very renewable resource we have, and that is the best thing about it," said Rob Mangone, vice president of Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt.

His company bought a plant in 1985 that was capable of recycling asphalt pavements. Workers take the old pavements removed from streets and parking lots, crush it, grind it and reuse it.

And Mangone''s investment in the plant has proven valuable as the percentage of recycled materials allowed in roadway projects has increased.

He said the cost savings and the environmental savings are huge.

Mangone said that oil needed for paving costs $300 a ton and if recyclable asphalt is 4 percent oil, it represents a $12 per savings to him that he can pass on to customers.

"It is better to recycle than fill up a landfill," he said. "It is saving our natural resources. It keeps me from having to buy more raw materials. And there is a cost benefit to tax payers. "

Environmental benefits aside, testing has shown that the recycled asphalt pavement, even with the increased percentages, lasts just as long.

Davis said recycled pavement asphalt is very reliable and with all the testing that has been done, the service life of recycled pavement is just as long as virgin asphalt.

"If its total new construction pavement, it should get every bit of 20 years," Davis said.

In addition, other waste products can be used in making asphalt pavement such as old tires, factory-rejected roofing shingles, slag aggregate from steel production and sand from metal-casting foundries.

Quality and expense were two concerns in the past, Mangone said.

"It took years and years to get to this point to say ''yeah we are happy with this,''" Mangone said.

But for those in the business, it''s the new policies put in place by the city and county that pave the way for "green" roadways.

"What we''ve seen in our marketplace is the acceptance of the material by our agency friends," Mangone said.