Insights
Our experts share their thoughts on asphalt sustainability, innovation, safety and creating a culture of care.
Sustainability
SigmaBond Pushes the Limits of Sustainability
In our ongoing commitment to sustainable solutions for the paving industry, we're diving deep into the groundbreaking possibilities of SigmaBond — our high-performing asphalt material made from waste tire rubber. Building upon our last blog post, "Harmonizing the Hallmarks of Sustainable Pavements," where we looked at perpetual pavements and balanced…
Harmonizing the Hallmarks of Sustainable Pavements
In many sectors, including the asphalt pavement industry, sustainable materials are coming into play and are at the top of everyone’s agenda. Recycled asphalt pavement and shingles (RAP/RAS), waste tire rubber (WTR), plastics, glass – many scrap products find viable end uses in pavements. But focusing on materials alone is…
Answering the Call: Where Roofing and Sustainability Meet
It’s what’s inside that counts. The quality of a shingle is only as good as the materials it’s composed of — and shingle manufacturers have been put on notice. More accountability is being demanded of the roofing industry, with an emphasis on expanding sustainability measures. For more than two decades,…
The Evolution of Waste Tire Rubber in the Greening of the Asphalt Industry
The greatest innovations often have the most humble beginnings. So is the story of the use of waste tire rubber in asphalt pavements. Charlie McDonald – dubbed the father of asphalt rubber1 – pioneered this concept more than 70 years ago. McDonald’s camping trailer was leaking, and he needed a…
From Black to Green: Polyco’s Sustainability Journey
To me, building a sustainable infrastructure is a moral obligation. For the foreseeable future, humans will need roofs for shelter and roads for transportation. Asphalt is a core (albeit overlooked) ingredient in both instances. However, the general public has a narrow view of what asphalt is, how it’s used, and…
Good Binders Make RAP and RAS Better
As more DOT specifications call for increased percentages of recycled materials in asphalt hot mix, many still need to be convinced about the performance of pavements paved with RAP and/or RAS. Additionally, there’s confusion over the environmental and financial impact of using recycled materials. These are all valid concerns. However,…
Paving the Way for Sustainable Streets in Fort Worth
We recently partnered with Texas Materials (formerly TexasBit) to pave city streets in downtown Fort Worth using their multi-purpose asphaltic concrete, MAC Mix. The project resulted in a dense graded ARHM with a smooth, dark finish — but the kicker here is that the asphalt mix included up to 11%…
Innovative Business, Family Style
Founded in 1994, Polyco entered the asphalt market as a small, family-owned business with big goals. Tom Nichols, our founder, recognized a need for better-engineered roofing and, eventually, paving solutions that embraced a green model of stability. Starting with nothing more than an idea on a napkin, $400, and a…
Polyco makes inroads into Northern California
For years contractors in California have tried to incorporate used tire rubber into asphalt to extend the life of their roadways but with limited success. Recently, Polyco landed contracts in Northern California to assist with several paving projects powered by our proprietary Rapid Digestion Process™ (RDP), SigmaBond a revolutionary asphalt that…
Independent Studies Prove that SigmaBond Results in Upcycled Performance
Focusing on what's possible is at the core of everything Polyco does. One of the innovations we are most excited about is the technology we’ve developed to reduce landfill waste by recycling waste tires. While there are many ways to recycle tires, Polyco’s patented Rapid Digestion Process (RDP) completely liquefies…