As you drive to work, prepare for that road trip with your friends, or pack the car for the cottage, your most pressing thought might not be on how environmentally friendly Ontario roads and highways have become over the past 10 years.

In previous articles, I have mentioned how the road building and asphalt production industry has implemented different methods to help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these approaches include using recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and implementing strict environmental practices at asphalt producing plants as part of our Trillium Awards program. In this piece, I will talk about the environmental benefits of warm mix asphalt (WMA), one of the re-emerging trends in the construction industry right now.

WMA is a different process for mixing, hauling, placing and compaction of asphalt mixtures. It is a greener process that has less impact on the environment with reduced hydrocarbon emissions and greenhouse gases. WMA is produced and mixed at temperatures not exceeding 150 °C. Latest Ontario specifications for WMA recommends a maximum allowable production temperature of 135 °C.

One of the major environmental benefits of using WMA is lower temperature applications can reduce the amount of fuel-burning energy it takes to mix asphalt at a plant. Additionally, the asphalt can be heated much more quickly at lower temperatures during the production process, which inevitably results in fewer carbon emissions being released into the ozone by approximately 30 to 35 per cent.

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