When you think of making choices that are good for the environment, deciding on using asphalt for your paving project may not immediately come to mind. But the fact is that asphalt actually is an environmentally friendly choice. Here are a few reasons why that’s true:
- Asphalt is reusable. You’ve no doubt seen construction and maintenance crews tearing up asphalt roads and driveways before replacing them with new pavement. But what you may not know is that the old material isn’t just dumped somewhere – it’s actually used to create new asphalt for other projects. The aggregate used in asphalt (typically consisting of rocks, gravel, sand and slag, primarily) are easily recycled over and over and over again. That means that asphalt companies don’t have to constantly collect new raw materials but, instead, can simply use old asphalt to create new material.
- The asphalt creation process has minimal impact on the environment. Although the binding material used in asphalt (bitumen) is made by refining crude oil, it typically only makes up about 5% of the asphalt mixture, with the remaining 95% consisting of aggregates. In fact, in recent years, the asphalt industry has reduced the amount of air pollution it produces by an estimated 97%! When it comes to industrial pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency ranks asphalt production as being a very low contributing factor.
- Asphalt helps protect drinking water. Believe it or not, asphalt is commonly used as a protective layer in drinking water reservoirs. There’s a good reason for this: because asphalt creates an impenetrable and safe barrier for potable water.
- Asphalt has a long lifespan. In fact, when asphalt is properly maintained and repaired on a regular basis, the pavement can last for decades. When the top layer of asphalt does eventually need more than repair measures can provide, it’s very common to resurface the top layer rather than replacing the entire roadway. And that top layer can, once again, be reused to create new asphalt.
If you’re trying to decide which surface is best for your next paving project, remember the environmentally friendly aspects of asphalt! Not only is this remarkably durable material safer for the environment, it’s also less expensive than many other pavement choices. To find out more about asphalt paving, and to determine whether or not it’s the right choice for your project, contact a reputable local paving contractor today and ask for a free estimate.