Every resurfacing project generates reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), yet most producers still treat a large portion of it as a secondary material while continuing to purchase virgin aggregate and binder. As material costs rise and supply pressures grow, some contractors are asking a simple question: Why aren't we using more of what we already have?
Green Asphalt, the nation's first 100% recycled asphalt pavement plant, is answering that question. The company has placed more than 2 million tons of 100% RAP on New York City streets, including heavily traveled routes.
The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) estimates recycled asphalt pavement saves the industry roughly $3.3 billion annually while reducing demand for virgin materials, preserving landfill space and delivering pavement performance on par with conventional mixes.
Despite that, RAP content in new asphalt pavement mixtures averages roughly 20% nationally — even as material pressures continue to mount.
"They're not making any more rock,” notes Dylan Neudecker, General Manager – Central NY at Heidelberg Materials.
If the performance data is strong and the business case is compelling, why isn't RAP usage higher?
IF IT WORKS, WHY ISN'T RAP USAGE HIGHER?
If the performance data is strong and the business case is compelling, why isn't RAP usage higher?
Part of the answer lies in specifications. Many state departments of transportation limit RAP percentages through requirements developed long before today's quality control methods and performance testing.
Agencies remain influenced by failures from the 1980s and 1990s, when inconsistent RAP quality led to variable results, says Jim McMurray, Head of Business Development at Green Asphalt. That history keeps many specs locked into conservative RAP caps, even though today’s quality control practices, including fractionation and more advanced performance testing, can better manage the variability agencies remember.
Balanced Mix Design (BMD) is also beginning to shift that mindset. Rather than focusing primarily on ingredient limits and volumetric requirements, BMD evaluates how a mix performs through cracking and rutting tests. Many producers see BMD as a pathway to higher RAP because it gives agencies a performance-based way to evaluate and approve mixes, but agencies are adopting it at different rates, creating uneven approval processes.
TREATING RAP LIKE A PREMIUM MATERIAL
A common criticism is that RAP does not deliver predictable performance. Green Asphalt addresses that concern by treating RAP as a controlled raw material. Incoming millings are fractionated into multiple stockpiles, tested and managed under strict quality assurance and quality control procedures.
"You can't expect high-quality asphalt with low-quality RAP," Jim says.
The company also uses rejuvenators — oils that restore flexibility to aged binder — and conducts performance testing to balance cracking resistance and rutting. That approach aligns with findings from the Federal Highway Administration, which reports that mixes containing 30% to 50% reclaimed binder content can perform well when properly engineered.
Demonstrating performance, however, is only part of the challenge. Producers also need a clear business case.
THE ECONOMICS BEHIND HIGHER RAP USAGE
Every ton of RAP returned to a mix reduces the need for virgin aggregate and binder, two of the most expensive inputs in asphalt pavement production. On a Shore Road project in Queens, Green Asphalt estimates that using 100% RAP saved approximately $140,000 compared with conventional mixes.
Handling millings is also costly; with roughly 200,000 tons on site, simply moving or disposing of that material becomes a major expense. Converting that material into a mix creates an immediate advantage.
Those economics helped convince Heidelberg Materials to partner with Green Asphalt in 2024 to develop Capital District Green Asphalt in New York’s Capital Region.
Heidelberg says the business case is straightforward: Recycling RAP lowers material costs, creates value from stockpiles and delivers a measurable return. The partners aim to pave between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of municipal work in upstate New York.
WHY IT’S TIME TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT RAP
For contractors, this means future competitiveness may depend less on whether higher RAP is possible and more on whether they have the quality control processes needed to support it.
Across the country, several agencies are exploring pathways to higher RAP usage:
- The Florida Department of Transportation averages about 34% RAP, well above the national average.
- Several states, including Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Louisiana and New Jersey, are adopting BMD and other performance-based approaches that can support higher RAP contents.
The direction is clear: agencies are shifting from fixed RAP caps to performance-driven acceptance.
Producers considering higher RAP should focus on:
- Material consistency: Fractionation, stockpile management and moisture control.
- Rejuvenator selection: Matching chemistry to local RAP sources.
- Plant adjustments: Drum design, heat transfer and parallel flow considerations.
- Performance testing: Cracking and rutting tests under BMD.
- Specification pathways: How to present data and performance results to agencies.
The industry has already proven that RAP can work. The next challenge is determining how to scale its use while maintaining the quality, consistency and performance that owners expect.
Learn more about The Path to 100% Recycled Asphalt Pavement by purchasing On Demand Education Access from the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 show.
PHOTO COURTESY CONEXPO-CON/AGG
