Emmet County is using old shingles and crushing them into an asphalt mix
EMMET CO., MI -- A lot of summer projects like road work and home construction are starting to wrap up for the year.
But the two will continue to work together in Emmet County in a surprising way.
What's torn off from over our heads is being turned into what goes under our tires.
Eric Basmaji has a few days off and is using the off-time to replace his roof. He brought his old asphalt shingles to Emmet County Recycling to get rid of them.
"I think anytime we can recycle anything is a good idea," said Basmaji.
The facility began accepting old shingles to recycle in April. So far, the county has recycled a little more than 3,000 tons.
"There's an automatic incentive to recycling if they bring us a clean shingle product," said Lindsey Walker, Emmet County Recycling Outreach.
There's quite the savings that's involved with recycling shingles compared to throwing them in the landfill. At the Emmet County Recycling facility, it cost $10 per cubic yard to recycle the old shingles. That's compared to $22 to throw them away.
“Definitely, it's a lot cheaper, you know, there's a big cost difference between recycling and not," said Basmaji.
“Basically, the materials and energy savings in of itself is worth it for all parties involved," said Walker.
And here's where you may be surprised. The recycled shingles aren't being molded into new shingles.
“We've been asked by the recycling center and a couple local contractors to try it," said Brian Gutowski of the Emmet County Road Commission.
They're being crushed up and put into a hot asphalt mix. This year, Emmet County used 10,000 tons of shingle-mixed hot asphalt on county roads.
“The reason we like to use it is a two prong reason. One is we should get a better price down the road once it gets more popular, and it will also give us a much stronger asphalt," said Gutowski.
He says the fibers from the recycled shingles in the roof-road mix should help keep the asphalt together a lot longer, meaning less maintenance down the road. The hope is going green will help save green and give the county better roads.
Gutowski says using the shingle-asphalt mix is something newer to Michigan and the region.
He says Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana have been doing this, with pretty good success and savings.
The recycling facility used the new mix to pave around their new facility.
