Four Ways Asphalt Benefits The Environment

From production to replacement, asphalt is a durable paving material that minimizes the impact on the environment. Today, a wide variety of innovative asphalt products are available designed to optimize performance and durability and reduce costs. In addition, asphalt is easy to maintain, as it only requires that the top layer be removed and replaced. Here are four ways reduces environmental impact.

Sustainability

Asphalt is one of North America's top recycled and reused materials. Commonly referred to as recycled asphalt pavement or RAP, the asphalt industry recycles over 99 percent of its own asphalt annually. This saves hundreds of acres of landfill space and taxpayer money each year. The asphalt industry also helps reduce waste from other industries by reusing and recycling rubber and glass, as well as recycling other materials into asphalt that would otherwise go into a landfill. 

Reduces Greenhouse Gas 

Greenhouse gas contributes to environmental issues such as global warming and one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions is the burning of fuel for transportation. When your vehicle discharges greenhouse gas it traps heat and gets absorbed into the atmosphere, making the planet warmer and throwing off the climate. The asphalt industry helps reduce greenhouse gas in a number of ways. For example, warm mix asphalt is a technology that involves lowering the temperature asphalt mixes are produced at, which reduces greenhouse gas. In addition, vehicles traveling on smooth asphalt pavement consume less fuel, which results in lower greenhouse emissions.

Lowers Transportation Noise

Noisy freeways filled with cars traveling on rough pavements make a significant contribution to noise pollution in the environment. A growing body of research suggests transportation noise can trigger elevated hormone levels, disrupt your sleep, contribute to cardiovascular disease and even lead to premature death. Because asphalt is smoother than other pavement materials, vehicles traveling on asphalt pavements make less noise, thereby reducing transportation noise pollution. 

Water Conservation

Porous asphalt, also known as permeable or open-graded asphalt is a paving solution made of reduced fines that leave stable air pockets in the asphalt. This design allows surface water to drain through the asphalt, which helps conserve water by reducing spray and stormwater runoff rate. When it comes to stormwater management for example, porous asphalt serves as an environmentally conscious and valuable tool that can lead to long-term cost savings. The reduction in trapped water also decreases erosion, thereby extending the life of the asphalt pavement.