Staunton,
United States of America
Project I-64 Reclamation: Sustainable construction methods were utilized to reclaim 150 lane miles of roadways on I-64 in Williamsburg, VA saving a verified 17,790 tons of CO2 from entering the environment. The road work was performed in the following locations with the corresponding emissions reductions in tCO₂e.
Global Emissionary’s Verra Approved VM0039 methodology credits sustainable roadway construction with these key environmental factors in mind.
- Reduced energy consumption: Eliminate the need for extensive heating of materials, as required in traditional hot mix asphalt methods. This significantly reduces energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
- Preservation of natural resources: Reusing existing pavement materials reduces the demand for new aggregate and asphalt, thus preserving natural resources.
- Minimization of waste: By recycling existing pavement materials on-site, minimizing the need for disposal in landfills and reducing the environmental impact of waste management.
- Lower carbon footprint: Due to reduced energy consumption, preservation of natural resources, and minimized waste generation, recycling existing pavement results in a lower overall carbon footprint compared to conventional road construction methods.
By supporting this project, companies play an integral role in ensuring the road network their businesses rely upon are built through eco-conscious methods. Join us in paving the way for a greener tomorrow. Purchase carbon credits that take part in supporting roadways built with the environment in mind.
What is Cold Recycled Asphalt? Cold recycled asphalt represents a cleaner way to repave roads that promotes circularity and can bring important benefits to municipalities.
The Heavy Emissions of "Business as Usual" When roads are repaved, contractors typically rely on Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and, to a lesser extent, Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA). This process is GHG-intensive and relies on mining, heating, and transporting virgin materials.
Emissions Savings from Cold Recycling
Cold recycling avoids GHG emissions by reusing the material in-place, achieving recycling rates upwards of 90% (compared to the typical 20-30% for conventional recycling), and processing the material without having to heat it.
CRA has been proven to be structurally equivalent or even better than HMA.
Why is Cold Recycling Rare? In 2023, CRA accounted for less than 1.5% of all asphalt produced in the US. This is not a technology gap; it is an economic and structural barrier.
- New technology: CRA is a relatively new technology that faces the kinds of barriers innovations typically face, including reluctance by contractors to embrace it and high costs.
- High Capital Costs: Investing in cold recycling equipment is expensive, versus typical HMA equipment. In addition, for existing contractors, investing in cold recycling represents an entirely new cost that is not necessary.
- Misaligned Incentives: Contractors make significantly more money with the HMA/WMA status quo.
- Industry & Regulatory Hurdles: The market is protected by a strong HMA lobby and regulatory systems that disadvantage new methods.
Global Emissionairy's goal is to leverage carbon finance to reduce the costs of this new technology and overcome these specific market failures.
Advantages for municipalities and the public:
- Speed: Projects are completed faster, minimizing road closures.
- Cost Savings: Once there is sufficient cold recycling capacity in the market, its use can reduce repaving costs for transportation agencies and tax payers.
- Air Quality: Eliminates the HMA heating process, reducing emissions of ozone precursors (smog).
- Environmental Justice: Reduces reliance on HMA plants, which are often located in disadvantaged communities.
Carbon Accounting Methodology: The projects are verified under VM0039, which was authored by Global Emissionairy and was based on pioneering work by researchers at the University of Maryland). While v1.1: was approved in 2019 and is applicable to US-based projects, v2.0 (in development) will make the methodology applicable globally.
About The Developer Global Emissionairy
Global Emissionairy quantifies carbon emission reductions in a cradle-to-installation life cycle analysis (LCA) using its Verra-approved methodology (VM0039) and patented process (US 10,870,953 B2) and converts these reductions into verified carbon units (VCUs) which can be traded on the voluntary carbon market.
Global Emissionairy works to reduce the carbon footprint of the paving industry. Pavement organizations partner with Global Emissionairy to generate carbon credits for recycling pavement with cold in place recycling (CIR), cold central plant recycling (CCPR), and full depth reclamation (FDR) using reclaimed aggregate pavement (RAP), asphalt emulsions, and foam stabilized asphalt base (FSAB or FSB).