Old asphalt from a driveway, parking lot, or other project can go to a construction and demolition recycling center, a municipal landfill that accepts bulk materials, or directly to an asphalt plant. Recycling centers are the most common and cost-effective option, and many areas have multiple facilities within driving distance. The right choice depends on how much material you have and what’s available near you.
Facilities That Accept Old Asphalt
Three main types of facilities take broken or milled asphalt:
- C&D recycling centers. Construction and demolition recycling facilities are the most common destination. They crush old asphalt into aggregate that gets reused in new paving or as road base material. Many charge by the ton, and rates for clean asphalt are low, often around $5 per ton for straight aggregate. Some accept it for free.
- Municipal landfills. County and city landfills typically accept asphalt, but with restrictions. Sacramento County, for example, requires that asphalt chunks be no larger than 36 inches in any dimension and that loads contain no asbestos materials. Landfill tipping fees run significantly higher than recycling centers, commonly $40 to $60 per ton for construction debris.
- Asphalt plants. Hot-mix asphalt producers often buy back or accept old pavement directly because they blend it into new mixes. If you have a large volume from a commercial project, contacting a local plant can save on disposal costs entirely.
To find a facility near you, search your county’s waste management website. Many counties, like Travis County in Texas, offer online drop-off tools that let you filter by material type. Always call ahead to confirm hours, fees, and any rules about load size or contamination.
Why Recycling Is the Best Option
Asphalt is the most recycled material in the United States. Over 99 percent of reclaimed asphalt pavement gets put back to use, according to a 2023 industry survey published by the Transportation Research Board. That makes it more recycled than aluminum, paper, or glass.
When old asphalt reaches a recycling facility, it’s crushed into smaller pieces and screened for contaminants. The resulting material, called reclaimed asphalt pavement or RAP, gets blended into new asphalt mixes. The average new asphalt mixture now contains about 22 percent recycled material, up from around 16 percent in 2009. This conserves the petroleum-based binder that holds asphalt together, which is the most expensive component, and keeps millions of tons out of landfills each year.
Because recyclers profit from reselling the material, they charge far less than landfills. That price difference is the practical reason to choose a recycling center over a dump: you save money while the material gets a second life.
What Clean Asphalt Means
Most facilities distinguish between “clean” asphalt and contaminated loads. Clean asphalt is old pavement with nothing else mixed in: no dirt, rebar, wood, trash, or roofing materials. If your load is clean, you’ll pay the lowest rate and many recyclers will take it at minimal cost.
Asphalt shingles are a separate category. Recycling facilities that accept them charge more, roughly $35 per ton in one Wisconsin county’s 2024 rate sheet, because shingles require different processing. They also need to be free of cedar shake, metal flashing, and nails. If you’re tearing off a roof, keep shingles separated from any pavement chunks to avoid paying the higher rate on the entire load.
Loads contaminated with other construction debris, like drywall, wood, or metal, get classified as general construction and demolition waste. That pushes the disposal cost to $50 or $60 per ton, sometimes more. Sorting your material before you haul it is the simplest way to keep costs down.
Hauling and Weight Considerations
Broken asphalt weighs about 1,400 pounds per cubic yard, or roughly 0.7 tons. That’s heavier than most people expect. A standard pickup truck bed holds around 1 to 1.5 cubic yards, which means a full load of broken asphalt weighs between 1,400 and 2,100 pounds. Most half-ton pickups max out around 1,500 pounds of payload, so you can realistically carry about one cubic yard per trip without overloading the truck.
For larger projects, renting a small dump trailer or hiring a junk hauling service makes more sense. If you’re removing a full residential driveway, you’re likely looking at 5 to 15 cubic yards of material, which translates to roughly 3.5 to 10.5 tons. At that volume, some recycling centers will arrange pickup, or you can rent a roll-off dumpster specifically rated for heavy debris. Just confirm with the dumpster company that asphalt is allowed, since some restrict it due to weight limits on their containers.
Where Not to Dump Asphalt
Standard asphalt pavement is not classified as hazardous waste under federal regulations, but that doesn’t mean you can leave it anywhere. Dumping asphalt on the side of a road, in a vacant lot, or on someone else’s property is illegal dumping in every state, carrying fines that range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the jurisdiction and volume.
Curbside trash collection won’t take it either. Asphalt is too heavy and too bulky for residential garbage trucks. Some people try breaking it into small pieces and bagging it, but most haulers will refuse or simply leave it behind.
If you’re considering using old asphalt as fill on your own property, for a low spot in a field or as a base layer under gravel, check your local regulations first. Some municipalities allow it with restrictions, while others treat it the same as illegal dumping if it’s not placed by a permitted contractor.