2nd Annual Asphalt Pavement Industry Survey on Recycled Materials and Warm-Mix Asphalt Usage

The FHWA/NAPA industry survey first began in 2010. In order to continue to track the use of RAP, Ras, and WMA technologies, FHWA again partnered with NAPA to conduct a similar survey of RAP, RAS, and WMA use for 2011. This report documents the 2011 industry survey results including the survey methodology, results, trends, and changes from 2009 through 2011.

Highlight features & benefits

• Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement: About 98 percent of the contractors/branches reported using RAP in 2011, up slightly from 96
  percent in 2010. The amount of RAP used in asphalt mixtures was 66.7 million tons in 2011, a 19 percent increase over the tons used in 2009 (56 million tons) and about a 7 percent increase over the tons used in 2010 (62.1 million tons). Assuming 5 percent liquid asphalt in RAP, this represents over 3.3 million tons (19 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved. Similar to 2010, less than 1 percent of RAP was sent to landfills.
  Reclaimed Asphalt Shingles: Use of RAS (both manufacturers’ scrap and post-consumer shingles) increased from 1.1 million tons in 2010 to 1.2 million tons in 2011, an 8 percent increase. Assuming a conservative asphalt content of 20 percent for the RAS, this represents 380,000 tons (2.2 million barrels) of asphalt binder conserved.
• Warm-Mix Asphalt Technologies: Total tonnage of WMA is estimated at 68.7 million tons in 2011. This was a 67 percent increase over 2010 WMA tonnage (41.1 million tons). In 2011, WMA was about 19 percent of the total asphalt mixture market. Plant foaming is used most often in producing WMA, with about 95 percent of the market; additives accounted for 5 percent of the market.