When municipalities and road builders rehabilitate existing roads, RAP is produced. It consists of approximately 95% aggregate (stone, asphalt, sand, etc.) and 5% bitumen. The Ontario Paving Report published by Good Roads includes the historical and latest figures on RAP quantities across Ontario which is estimated to be 2.9 million tonnes spread across 109 facilities. [2026 Ontario Paving Report] 

By incorporating RAP into road construction projects, a number of benefits are realized. Financially, there is a cost reduction in road building as the use of RAP decreases the need for new materials. Costs associated with procuring, hauling, and storing the inputs that RAP replaces are eliminated. The product is largely a ‘free’ input.

Environmentally, the use of RAP allows for the recovering of non-renewable petrochemical resources. The ability to reuse these materials eliminates the need to ship massive volumes of solid waste to landfills. RAP also eliminates the need to source more expensive ‘virgin’ (i.e., new) aggregate resources. There is also an associated reduction of water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is where the largest opportunity exists.

Good Roads is leading several initiatives to advancing the responsible use of RAP in road building. Teaming up with University of Waterloo and the National Research Council, we are working on an engineering solution allowing rural municipalities to tap into the millions of tonnes of RAP in advancing their maintenance and construction of the 70,000km network of unpaved roads in Ontario. Good Roads is also leading a national project on mapping Canada’s recycled aggregates collaborating with National Research Council and the Transportation Association of Canada.