Industry News

Aggregates

NAPA survey shows new pavement uses higher percentage of RAP

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), Greenbelt, Maryland, has released the results of its 12th industry survey examining the use of recycled materials and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) in paving. According to the association, 95 percent of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is reused in new pavement.

The average percentage of RAP used in mixtures increased to nearly 22 percent in 2021, compared with 15.6 percent in 2009—the survey’s first year.

The survey, which also evaluates greenhouse gas emissions, found that annual RAP use prevented 2.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, which is the equivalent of removing 570,000 passenger vehicles from the road.

According to the “Asphalt Pavement Industry Survey on Recycled Materials and Warm-Mix Asphalt Usage: 2021,” producers used 94.6 million tons of RAP in asphalt production in 2021, conserving 26 million barrels of asphalt binder while replacing more than 89 million tons of virgin aggregate. When combined with the savings realized through the use of 630,000 tons of reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), the study estimates that producers saved more than $3.5 billion while also freeing nearly 62 million cubic yards of landfill space.

“The latest ‘Asphalt Pavement Industry Survey on Recycled Materials and Warm-Mix Asphalt Usage’ has new data but a familiar conclusion: Our industry takes sustainability seriously,” says NAPA Chairman of the board James Mitchell, who also is CEO of Gainesville, Virginia-based Superior Paving Corp. “Quantifying our impact in this way began in 2009 through [a] partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, and each year it reveals that the asphalt pavement industry is a leader in connecting the country while keeping waste out of landfills.”

Using data from 261 companies, the survey also tracks the use of 1.3 million tons of other recycled materials incorporated into nearly 9.2 million tons of asphalt pavement mixtures, including recycled tire rubber, blast furnace slag, steel slag and cellulose fibers.

In addition to RAP and RAS, the survey documents the use of WMA to produce 177.9 million tons of mix, or roughly 41 percent of the total estimated asphalt mixture market in 2021. While this represents a 5 percent reduction from the 186.4 million WMA tons reported in 2020, the authors note that WMA tonnage is up almost tenfold from 2009.

Survey data come from 1,388 production plants representing 261 companies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NAPA says it gathered the data between January and August 2022.

Construction

Granite selected for Los Angeles airport construction and rehabilitation project

Granite, a construction materials company based in Watsonville, California, has been awarded a $174 million contract by Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to construct new exit taxiways and reconstruct sections of existing runways. The project will begin in 2023 and is expected to finish in 2025.

According to a news release from Granite, the project will be funded by LAWA’s Capital Improvement Plan and the Federal Aviation Administration. The company will recycle approximately 85,000 tons of materials on-site, self-producing about 85,000 cubic yards of FAA concrete for the project.

The project includes four new exit taxiways alongside existing Runway 6L-24R, rehabilitation of hot mix asphalt pavement surfacing on Runway 6L-24R and reconstruction of the Portland cement concrete pavement keel section of Runway 6R-24L on the north airfield. 

The LAWA project requires two major runways to close sequentially, requiring double 10-hour work shifts, six and sometimes seven days per week for nearly a year. Granite says the resulting work from this project will improve safety and operational efficiency on the airfield and extend the pavement life of both runways on the north complex of the airport.

“This project allows Granite to further enhance our quality relationship with LAWA that has been developing since 2016,” says Scott McArthur, vice president of regional operations at Granite. “We appreciate being trusted with a project that will provide increased safety and efficiency to one of the world’s busiest airports.” 

Mergers & Acquisitions

LRS acquires 2 Michigan-based hauling firms

LRS says it has made its largest acquisitions to date with its purchases of Michiana Recycling & Disposal, Niles, Michigan, and Modern Waste Systems, Napoleon, Michigan. LRS, based in Rosemont, Illinois, says these moves advance its “position as [a] national waste and recycling leader as it marks the start of its 10-year anniversary [following] an historic 2021 and 2022 driven by geographic expansion, continued investment in core markets and M&A growth across 36 transactions.”

LRS did not disclose the financial terms of the two Michigan-based acquisitions.

“We are honored today to announce the acquisition of Michiana Recycling & Disposal and Modern Waste Systems,” says Alan T. Handley, president and CEO of LRS, in a news release dated Jan. 9. “I am incredibly proud to welcome the hard-working, dedicated and talented employees to the LRS family and look forward to carrying the legacy of these great businesses into the future.”

Michiana Recycling & Disposal President Jon Groot says, “Throughout the transaction, it became clear LRS puts its employees and customers first. I look forward to the team’s continued success in providing a great place to work and exceptional service to the communities and employees served throughout Michigan and Indiana.”

Groot continues, “LRS brings a lot to the table for the continued growth and development of not only the business and market area as a whole but also for the employees. I’m wildly confident they will continue their course of being an industry leader in waste and recycling.”

Michiana broke ground on a material recovery facility (MRF) in 2006, expanded the plant in 2008 and recycled more than 7,000 tons of material in 2009, including concrete, wood, metal, vinyl and drywall. In 2016, the company says it completed its third and largest expansion to the MRF, adding 20,000 square feet, for a total size of 38,000 square feet. It also increased its conveyors’ footage from 214 linear feet to more than 1,100 linear feet.

LRS says the two acquisitions add “three state-of-the-art waste and recycling transfer facilities, along with [a] dense collection base across 100,000 residential, 9,000 commercial and 25 municipal-based customers covering the greater Michigan and Indiana region.”

Michiana and Modern Waste Systems employ 200 people combined.

LRS made a previous acquisition in the Michigan and Indiana markets in March of last year, purchasing South Bend, Indiana-based Junroll Services.

LRS describes itself as North America’s fifth-largest privately held waste and recycling company, with operations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. The company owns and operates 85 facilities and a fleet of trucks, has 2,500 full-time employees and processes more than 3.8 million tons of waste and recyclables each year.

LRS says it also offers roll-off container services, C&D recycling, portable restroom rentals, municipal and commercial street sweeping, mulch distribution, on-site storage and temporary fencing.

Safety

Department of Labor announces safety enforcement guidance changes

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued new enforcement guidance to make penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.  

Once the new enforcement guidance takes effect in late March, OSHA regional administrators and area office directors will have the authority to document certain types of violations on an instance-by-instance basis in cases of serious violations of OSHA standards. Areas of increased enforcement can include lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, falls, trenching and cases of less serious violations specific to recordkeeping. The Department of Labor says the change ensures OSHA applies the full authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, where increased citations are needed to discourage noncompliance. The new guidance covers enforcement activity in general industry, agriculture, maritime and construction.

The current policy has been in place since 1990 and only applies to egregious or willful citations.

In a second action, OSHA reminds its regional administrators and area directors not to group violations but to cite them separately to encourage employers to comply with the intent of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. 

“Smart, impactful enforcement means using all the tools available to us when an employer ‘doesn’t get it’ and will only respond to additional deterrence in the form of increased citations and penalties,” Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker says. “This is intended to be a targeted strategy for those employers who repeatedly choose to put profits before their employees’ safety, health and well-being. Employers who callously view injured or sickened workers simply as a cost of doing business will face more serious consequences.”