Missouri DOT Says it Saved $20 Million by Recycling Asphalt

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), based in Jefferson City, Mo., says it worked through paving contractors to use recycled asphalt and tear-off shingles in paving mixtures to save $20 million on resurfacing projects in 2009.

In 2009, MoDOT says it used 500,000 tons of reclaimed asphalt pavement (through the hot in-place recycling process) and 53,000 tons of recycled asphalt shingles.

“Beyond the cost savings, the environmentally friendly effort reduced the amount of petroleum MoDOT used in its road construction program by 20 percent and significantly cut down the amount of shingles that went into Missouri landfills,” the agency says in a news release.

Using recycled asphalt shingles on roadways has helped develop the market there, says MoDOT. Two years ago, there were only about a half-dozen shingle suppliers and contractors using or furnishing the recycled roofing material in Missouri, according to Joe Schroer, a MoDOT field materials engineer, who say many contractors had a “wait-and-see” attitude.

“When MoDOT first began to allow recycled asphalt shingles to be added into hot mix asphalt, many contractors were leery about how well the product would hold up on the road,” says Schroer. “It didn’t take long for that mindset to change. Now contractors are stepping up their use of recycled materials to be able to compete for jobs.”

According to MoDOT, the asphalt mixture has proven to be durable and more rut resistant as well as lower in cost – factors that can’t be ignored in a highly competitive contracting environment.

Today there are 13 contractors who use recycled asphalt shingles as a standard part of their business and 14 collectors/processors of shingles in Missouri, says the agency.

MoDOT says it also uses other recycled materials in roadway applications, such as tires, concrete and coal cinders.

A list of Missouri companies that recycle asphalt shingles and paving contractors that use them can be found at www.modot.org/goinggreen.