Recycling asphalt shingles
Minnesota annually generates 500,000 tons of post-consumer shingles.
An asphalt shingle contains the same basic ingredients as hot-mix asphalt: aggregate, asphalt cement, and mineral filler.
Laboratory and field testing by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) shows that scrap from asphalt shingle manufacturers (pre-consumer) can be used successfully in hot-mix asphalt. Based on this success, Mn/DOT has issued specifications that allow for the use of up to 5 percent manufacturers' shingle scrap in hot-mix asphalt.
Research and development continues on uses for tear-off roofing waste (post-consumer). Nationally, an estimated 11 million tons of used shingles are landfilled each year.
Toolkit: A guide to the use of roofing shingles in road construction
Fact sheets and additional information about the use of shingle scrap in hot-mix asphalt and other paving applications.
Project Overview- Minnesota Research
- Case Studies
- Economics
- Vendors of Shingle-grinding Equipment
- For more information
A project of the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Bituminous Roadways
Bituminous Roadways (Minneapolis, Minn.) has developed an improved processing system for turning shingle byproduct from the manufacturing process into asphalt for roads. Use of 5 percent shingle byproduct improves the performance of hot-mix asphalt, and is cost-effective, with potential cost savings from $0.50 to $1 per ton. BR is currently using 25,000 tons of shingle manufacturing scrap. BR has used the product in mixes for parking lots and residential and commercial roads.
BR is also involved in testing the use of post-consumer tear-off shingles in hot mix asphalt. This next phase will develop a national engineering and environmental specification for the approximately 500,000 tons of post-consumer shingles generated in Minnesota each year.
For more information
Contacts
Use these contacts for more assistance on the use of shingle scrap in paving applications.
- Improving Recycling of Shingles in Minnesota project:
James Klessig < jim.klessig@dot.state.mn.us >, Mn/DOT Office of Research Services, 651-282-2472
- Technical assistance on mix-design approvals involving shingle byproducts in Minnesota:
Roger Olson < roger.olson@dot.state.mn.us >, Mn/DOT Office of Materials and Road Research, 651-779-5517
- Consultant technical assistance in Minnesota:
Dan Krivit < dkrivit@bitstream.net >, Dan Krivit and Associates, 651-489-4990
- Shingle recycling and product development operations in Minnesota:
Kent Peterson < petersonk@bitroads.com >, Bituminous Roadways, Inc., 651-686-7001
Technical reports
- Shingles: Shingles Recycling White Paper (SWMCB)
- Shingles: Driving Change - Manufacturer shingle scrap recycling (SWMCB)
- Shingles: Influence of roofing shingles on asphalt concrete mixture properties (Newcomb, et al., 1993)
- Shingles: Minnesota's experience with scrap shingles in bituminous pavements (1996)
- Shingles: Evaluation of use of manufactured waste asphalt shingles in hot mix asphalt (Chelsea Center, 2000)
- Shingles: Research using waste shingles for stabilization or dust control for gravel roads and shoulders
- Shingles: Incorporation of recycled asphalt shingles in hot-mixed asphalt pavement mixtures
- Shingles: Performance of recycled asphalt shingles in hot mix asphalt [TPF-5(213)]
Brochures
Conferences and workshops
- Shingles: Minnesota workshop reviewing results from lab testing of hot mix asphalt samples (2006)
- Shingles: Driving Change - Manufacturer shingle scrap recycling (SWMCB)
Web sites
- Asphalt roofing shingles recycling: California