AGENDA #5c
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Recycled Materials Used in Bulk Asphalt
DATE: October 23, 2000
At the regular business meeting on July 5, 2000, a Council member requested information related to our use of recycled products when repairing and resurfacing streets.
DISCUSSION
Our specifications and those used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) permit the use of recycled asphalt pavement material, generally referred to as “rap”. This product is commonly used by vendors. When we obtain bulk asphalt from local vendors, often the mix that we receive includes up to 15% rap. The critical factor is the product that is produced by the vendor.
With respect to resurfacing contract work, our specifications allow use of rap. Most of our contractors in recent years have used rap. For example, our most recent resurfacing contract was with Lee Paving Company (now known as S. T. Wooten), which uses some rap material. When we mill selected streets prior to contracted resurfacing, we use the by-product for in-house reconstruction work, or the vendor retains the by-product for use in recycled asphalt.
We have found such materials to be satisfactory and commonly used. We plan to continue to permit such materials in future work. Other materials, such as recycled tires and roofing shingles, have been used on an experimental basis by the NCDOT in improvements to the Raleigh Outer Loop. They have discontinued use of tires because of substandard performance relative to conventional asphalt. They have had more success with use of roofing shingles. We will monitor NCDOT’s results as they publish additional information.