Committee Corner: Shingle Recycling Update

During our Shingle Recycling Committee meeting on August 13th, our attendees were updated on the purposes and current activities of the committee, which includes the delivery of useful research such as a RAS life cycle analysis, the sharing and development of educational and benchmarking resources such as the 10th Shingle Recycling Forum and a Contractor Recycling Guidelines publication, and the growth of C&D recycling nationally. Chaired by Dan Horton of ASR Systems, the group regularly discusses the promotion of shingle recycling and the use of recycled asphalt shingles.

This meeting’s primary focus was on identifying opportunities in various states. David Vivanco, Asphalt Branch Manager at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, served as our guest speaker and offered a unique perspective and guidance to C&D recyclers as he fielded questions related to the feasibility of RAS in the state of Oklahoma, which is recognized as a Superpave state. One of the state’s goals is to use more recycled materials in the future. With that in mind, our speaker and attendees explored the potential of replacing the Superpave design with Balanced Mix Design (BMD). BMD is a performance design which increases the potential of using recycled materials such as RAS, while meeting sustainability goals, cost efficiency, and maintaining strict quality control. David noted the opportunity to limit rutting and cracking using BMD and explained the state’s current “Volumetric Design with Performance Optimization” approach. 

The Chair also announced the EPA’s approval of funding to NAPA for the shingle recycling lifecycle analysis project, further development of the website “Find a Recycler Directory”, the new operators panel planned for the Shingle Recycling Forum in Louisville on October 30th, and the importance of promoting the event to increase awareness and participation. 

We hope you will join us for our next committee meeting on October 8th and make your travel plans to join us in Louisville on October 30th! For more information, please visit www.shinglerecyclingforum.com.