Environmentally Friendly: Difference between revisions
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<b>This article has been moved to MoDOT's webpage [https://www.modot.org/being-green <big>Being Green</big>]</b> | |||
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[[image:Environmentally Friendly.jpg|center|800px]] | [[image:Environmentally Friendly.jpg|center|800px]] | ||
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When one thinks of environmentally friendly practices, building roads and bridges might not come to mind. Yet MoDOT strives every day to protect, conserve, restore and enhance our natural resource while dealing with the challenges of planning, designing, building, maintaining and operating a complex transportation infrastructure. | When one thinks of environmentally friendly practices, building roads and bridges might not come to mind. Yet MoDOT strives every day to protect, conserve, restore and enhance our natural resource while dealing with the challenges of planning, designing, building, maintaining and operating a complex transportation infrastructure. | ||
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::* MoDOT participated in a pilot group that tested Hybrid Aerial Trucks -- all other participants were private utility companies. | ::* MoDOT participated in a pilot group that tested Hybrid Aerial Trucks -- all other participants were private utility companies. | ||
[[image:recycle bridge.jpg|305px|right]] | |||
==Recycling== | ==Recycling== | ||
We're not just separating glass from plastic. Recycling takes place on a gigantic scale with MoDOT. Sometimes, the department recycles entire sections of roads! | We're not just separating glass from plastic. Recycling takes place on a gigantic scale with MoDOT. Sometimes, the department recycles entire sections of roads! | ||
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In recent years, MoDOT has allowed contractors to put used shingles that have been removed from rooftops into their asphalt mix. The result is a very durable, more-rut resistant asphalt at a much lower price. | In recent years, MoDOT has allowed contractors to put used shingles that have been removed from rooftops into their asphalt mix. The result is a very durable, more-rut resistant asphalt at a much lower price. | ||
MoDOT embraces new ideas that not only help us become a more cost-efficient agency, but a more environmentally friendly one, too. By recycling asphalt shingles, MoDOT keeps them out of landfills, preserve petroleum resources and lower our construction costs while maintaining high quality asphalt pavement. | |||
The use of recycled shingles saves $3 to $5 per ton of asphalt. That may not sound like much at first, but consider this: a typical resurfacing project would use about 30,000 tons of asphalt, for a savings of $90,000 to $150,000. | The use of recycled shingles saves $3 to $5 per ton of asphalt. That may not sound like much at first, but consider this: a typical resurfacing project would use about 30,000 tons of asphalt, for a savings of $90,000 to $150,000. | ||
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MoDOT can actually reuse asphalt directly in place by heating it, processing it on the road and relaying it. The process is called "Hot In-Place Recycling" and it saves Missourians millions of dollars every year. Here's how it works. | MoDOT can actually reuse asphalt directly in place by heating it, processing it on the road and relaying it. The process is called "Hot In-Place Recycling" and it saves Missourians millions of dollars every year. Here's how it works. | ||
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!<center>'''MoDOT Keeps Billions of Pounds of Waste from Landfills'''</center> | |||
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|8,417,020,000 is quite a large number. That is how many total pounds of waste MoDOT has either recycled back into our roads or kept from area landfills from 2005 through 2009. | |||
MoDOT has recycled 3.56 billion pounds of industrial waste from mines, steel furnaces and power plants, as well as shingles and tires over these five years. Industrial waste is usually disposed of in landfills, but MoDOT has recycled every pound for future uses. Area landfill managers tell MoDOT that 3.56 billion pounds is the equivalent of 89,000 semi-truck loads that would fill the Empire State Building four times. | |||
"There's no reason to dump materials into our landfills that can be recycled," says Joe Schroer, MoDOT Field Materials Engineer. "MoDOT embraces being green and we're getting better at it every day." | |||
Adding to the grand total is reclaimed material. Many of the miles of pavement you drive on and projects you see across Missouri are made of recycled material; in fact, MoDOT has recycled 4.86 billion pounds of reclaimed material that has been used on construction projects since 2005. This helps our environment and saves taxpayer money too. | |||
During 2009, MoDOT recycled more than two billion pounds of waste from construction projects and 6.2 million pounds of paper, cardboard, aluminum and electronics. | |||
"MoDOT wants to be a leader for recycling, conserving and being environmentally aware," said Schroer. "We hope to increase our efforts in the future." | |||
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[[image:Environmentally Friendly recycles roads1.jpg|thumb|500px|center|<center>'''First, the surface of the road is heated. It is processed using specialized equipment that scarifies it on the road while mixing in a rejuvenating agent.'''</center>]] | [[image:Environmentally Friendly recycles roads1.jpg|thumb|500px|center|<center>'''First, the surface of the road is heated. It is processed using specialized equipment that scarifies it on the road while mixing in a rejuvenating agent.'''</center>]] | ||
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'''From Tires to Fuel.''' MoDOT crews clean up more than 80,000 car tires – about 600 tons – that are left on state highways every year. These tires are ground up and used as fuel for power plants. | '''From Tires to Fuel.''' MoDOT crews clean up more than 80,000 car tires – about 600 tons – that are left on state highways every year. These tires are ground up and used as fuel for power plants. | ||
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