Spoons Full of Love

The term "wooden expression" usually describes someone whose face is as devoid of emotion, as difficult to read, as a block of wood.

The centuries-old Welsh tradition of lovespoon carving, imbues that expression with a different meaning. Needing a tangible way to demonstrate their feelings for the women they loved, young men carved them elaborate wooden spoons as tokens of their affection. Into chunks of timber, they infused emotions and sentiments that were difficult to express verbally.

For these ardent but inarticulate beaus, lovespoons represented the very essence of wooden expression. More than a way to express emotion though these love spoons also served as a declaration of intent: a desire to share a life and a tangible financial commitment.

This lens explores the tradition of lovespoon carving, examinng symbolic meanings, and showcasing the work of modern practioners of this fascinating art and folk custom.

Carving a Place in the Heart
Lovespoon Symbols and Meanings
David Western's Intricate Lovespoon Artistry
Royal Wedding Spoon
Jenkins Lovespoons: Delicate, Exquisite
Watch Some Lovespoons Being Carved
Mike Davies Lovespoons: Fit for Royalty
Scoop Up Some More Lovespoon Info
Cadwyn Lovespoons: Traditional Designs
A Little Welsh Immersion Course
Lovespoons: What Do You Think?
A Few Welsh and Celtic Tunes

Carving a Place in the Heart

Welsh Lovespoons: A Centuries Old Tradition

I wonder what made that first young suitor decide that carving a spoon would win him the heart of his chosen maiden? It does seem a little random, at first glance. Why a spoon, rather than some other eating utensil or even -- eureka! -- a personal adornment of some kind? Whatever the original source of inspiration, the custom clearly caught on, and a tradition begun centuries ago flourishes today.

Earliest documented evidence suggested that the Welsh tradition of lovespoon carving started in the mid-17th century. While not the only nation (or even the first) to adopt this folk custom, the Welsh embraced lovespoon carving with a vigor and purpose that is unmatched.

Wales' version of the mating dance began, as the ritual usually does, with a man falling for a woman. To notify her of his intentions, and to "sell" himself, he would carve and present her with a special spoon. Initially, these spoons might have been simply-decorated cawls -- soup spoons -- but eventually, the competition became more fierce and the stakes were raised. Carvings became more detailed as suitors strove to present themselves and their abilities in the best possible light.

Heart motifs were among the earliest designs, but over time, lovespoons became more elaborate, incorporating more symbols and more complex messages. Bells, birds, flowers, wheels, vines, and knots combined to form intricate carvings saturated with meaning.

A major challenge when making a lovespoon was to carve it entirely from one piece of wood, with no joins or additions. The more involved the design, the more skill was needed, and the more desirable the token. The task would have been difficult enough if the design elements were static, but they weren't. Many spoons had moving parts, such as varying numbers of links or caged balls, with the number of balls or links directly related to the sentiment. For example, two balls in a cage symbolized the couple; more balls might refer to the carver's hopes for a specific number of children.

A young man sits at his rough stone hearth, brow furrowed in concentration as he carefully chips away at a piece of wood. As he carves, images of his beloved fill his thoughts, obscuring the spoon on which he lavishes such care, His hand trembles. A single moment of distraction can destroy his love token and one careless knife stroke shatter the purity of his offering. His finished spoon must spring from a single piece of wood and the tiniest crack will ruin it.

While glimpses of mutual interest might spur the would-be lover to began his labors, often he had to gamble. After all, lovespoons were statements of intent, so a certain element of risk came with the territory. In addition, a desirable conquest might well receive lovespoons from multiple suitors. Not much different, really, than today's belles, who might "go steady" or even become engaged multiple times before settling on a life partner. Sometimes, these objects of affection wore their objects of affection strung on ribbons at the waist -- like so many scalps on a belt.

Today, the tradition of carving and giving lovespoons has grown beyond the original scope of an engagement gift. Lovespoons are given to mark many different occasions: anniversaries, weddings, births, and personal milestones. The expanded purpose has generated many new symbols and refinements of older ones.

The craft has grown also -- from folk art to fine art. Women carvers have joined the traditionally male domain and are producing extraordinarily beautiful and original work. New ideas, interpretations, and concepts have inspired modern carvers to create increasingly complex designs. Yet, whether simple or complicated, these lovespoons retain the original spirit and warmth of their predecessors. They remain what they always have been: tokens of love.

The Left Coast Eisteddfod Lovespoon

Featured here is the 2011 Portland Eisteddfod lovespoon carved by David Western of David Western Lovespoons. Each year, Dave designs and carves a special lovespoon to help raise money for the "Left Coast Eisteddfod", a Welsh-American Performing Arts and Culture Festival. A small donation to the group purchases a chance to win the current year's spoon. The 2011 raffle may be over, but I'm thinking ahead to 2012...

Read more about the fascinating evolution of this new spoon, which incorporates the 3 winning entries from a competition soliciting motifs. The spoon is a beauty.

Lovespoon Symbols and Meanings

By combining selected symbols and motifs it is possible to create a lovespoon whose message represents exactly what you wish to say. As with traditional fan or flower language, romantic and very personal sentiments can be expressed in these lovely, non-verbal ways.

ANCHOR
Settled love, eternal devotion and security.
BELL
Wedding bliss and anniversaries.
BIRDS
Love birds; or let's go away together. Stork represents a birth.
CAGED BALLS
Number of children hoped for. Also: the family unit, safely protected.
CASTLE
Like the harp and the daffodil, the castle symbol here is used to represent Wales.
CHAIN
Captured Love
COMMA SHAPE
The soul.
CROSS
Blessing of a couple's union; faith in their marriage; symbol of religious faith.
DAFFODIL
Growth; gentleness
DIAMOND
Wealth or good forune
DOUBLE BOWL
The loving couple
DOUBLE HEART
Shared love; love is returned; two people living as one.
DOUBLE SPOONS
A couple together forever.
DRAGON
Protection. Also a symbol of Wales
FEATHERS
Symbol of Wales
FLOWER
Courtship
HARP
Represents Wales through music and song
HEART
True love; the carver's heart belongs to his loved one.
HEART-SHAPED BOWL
Fulfilled love
HORSESHOE
Good luck; happiness.
HOUSE
My home is yours.
KEYHOLE or KEY
Living together after marriage. My house is yours.
KNOT
Everlasting love.
LINKS
Two lives linked together forever.
LOCK
Pledge of security and care.
SHIP
Safe voyage through life
SINGLE HEART
My Heart is Yours
SPADE
A promise to work and provide for his intended.
TRIPLE BOWL
The couple and hoped for offspring.
TWIST
Togetherness; two lives entwined..
TWO HEARTS
Two people sharing the same feelings.
VINE
Growing together
WHEEL
Willingness to work. Also: couple will stay on a safe course.

David Western's Intricate Lovespoon Artistry

David Western, who was born in Wales but now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, has been carving lovespoons for more than 20 years. He says carving them is his passion and comments, "My lovespoons are not souvenir trinkets; they are art which also celebrates both my client's personal stories and my hard-earned skills as a craftsman and designer."

Be sure to visit David's blog, for his moving account of a commission he received for a spoon that would be a final gift from a terminally ill woman to her dear friend.

The lovespoons pictured above represent a tiny sampling of his designs, many of which are individual commissions created to mark a special event or deeply personal experience of his client.
Also on David's site: a video of him discussing his art.

NOTE: For some unexplained reason, the hot link to this site sometimes fails. if you click on the picture and receive an error message, please cut and paste the following into your browser to reach the site. I apologise for any inconvenience, but I promise that the carvings you will see and the information presented on the site will reward the extra step. http://www.davidwesternlovespoons.com/www.davidwesternlovespoons.com/Home.html

Also visit David's Blog for an in-process look at his current projects. You can also reach his web page from the blog.

Royal Wedding Spoon by David Western

A Personal Challenge

David Western received suggestions that he carve a special spoon for the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He chose not to, saying, "Because they don't know me and I don't know them, an unsolicited gift to a couple who would prefer donations were made to charity didn't seem at all the right thing to do. "

However, the idea of a royal wedding spoon piqued his creativity in a way he couldn't entirely resist. Ultimately, he did create such a spoon -- not as a gift or to sell, but as a personal challenge. See the full lovespoon with David's explanation of his ideas and the symbolism used. It's a beauty and the insights into his thought processes are enlightening.

David Western's NEW Book

Available for Pre-Order

I'm so excited about this book. It's not due out until July 2012 but it can be pre-ordered now. Stunning photographs and lore by someone who is not only a master carver but thoroughly knowledgeable about the subject of lovespoons. David Western is also an experienced blogger and has already published one authoritative book on this subject, so I'm positive this will be another winner.

History of Lovespoons: The Art and Traditions of a Romantic Craft

by: David Western

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 01/31/2012)

Dylan Thomas Classic

A Child's Christmas in Wales

Amazon Price: $19.01 (as of 01/31/2012)

CD production of Dylan Thomas' beloved story includes a pop-up village as part of the packaging. Three original songs were written for this audio rendering of the story; they are performed by vocalist Suzi Stern. The complete text of the story is also included. Lovely gift; lovely to keep. You might want to get two!

Jenkins Lovespoons: Delicate, Exquisite, Full of Meaning

Laura Jenkins-Gorun of Jenkins Lovespoons creates ethereal lovespoons from her studio in Worthington, Ohio. In addition to selling her work online, she attends the occasional fair or festival; she also accepts commissions. Among her current projects is a collaboration with David Western on the 2010 Eisteddfod lovespoon. When designing lovespoons, Laura feels "one of the most important things is the message it sends - the general 'rule' is, its symbolism must be meaningful to both the giver and the recipient."

Mike Davies Lovespoons: Fit for Royalty

For more than 35 years, from his workshop in Wales, Mike Davies has carved lovespoons of stunning intricacy and detail. Recognized as a master in his field, he has carved one-of-a-kind pieces for a variety of clients and occasions, including presentation to members of the British Royal Family, celebrity couples, and museum collections. A few of his designs are pictured here; visit his site and prepare to be mesmerized by the display.

Scoop Up Some More Lovespoon Info

Resources. We've Got Resources.

Where to Buy Lovespoons (Carvers and Shops)

• Cadwyn Gifts
  Extensive selection of traditional lovespoons that are hand-carved and very good quality. Among its products are miniature lovespoons in several styles, which are perfect for wedding favors. More Cadwyn lovespoons shown below.
• David Western Love Spoons
  Photographs of some of David Western's intricate lovespoons are shown above. Visit his site to see many, many more breathtaking designs. His work is at the pinnacle of lovespoon art.
• Jenkins Lovespoons
  Laura Jenkins-Gorun is one of the few female carvers of lovespoons. Her one-of-a kind creations are marvels of delicate precision. A few of her designs are shown above, but you owe it to yourself to visit her site to see more.
• Love Spoon Gallery
  The Lovespoon Gallery in Mumbles, Swansea carries the work of many carvers, and has a range of styles that vary in quality and price.
• Lovespoons Wales
  Handcarved spoons by Paul Wadge, Dave Thomas, and Daffyd Hughes include an array of standard designs and the option for commissioned work.
• Mike Davies Welsh Lovespoons
  For more than 35 years, Mike Davies has carved lovespoons. Recognized as a master in his field, he has carved one-of-a-kind pieces for a variety of clients and occasions, including presentation to members of the British Royal Family.
• MJS WoodcarvingCardiff-based Martin J. Stuart hand carves beautifully detailed lovespoons that reflect traditional symbols in a very personal style.
• Pinc Products Ltd. - The Original Gay Lovespoon
  Updating a classic concept to encompass modern reality, Pinc Products offers lovespoons for gay and lesbian couples. The spoons combine traditional lovespoon symbols with double-male or double-female icons to create meaningful keepsakes.
• Richard Downes Love Spoons
  Originally trained as a furniture maker/restorer, Richard Davies has been creating hand-carved lovespoons for about 15 years.
• The SpoonMan
  Romanian spoons, not Welsh, are featured here. Many symbols differ from the Welsh ones, but the original purpose of the spoons is similar. These spoons are large -- about 20 inches. The site is in Romanian, but you will have no trouble translating the pictures....
• Wood Carvings by George
  Elaborately hand carved spoons with some unusual motifs.

Read More About Lovespoons

• The Lovespoon Story by Herbert E. Roese
  Authoritative and scholarly article on the history of lovespoons emphasizes the ones from Wales but also puts into context those from other countries in Europe and Africa, Very detailed.
• The Story So Far by Chris Watkins
  This article picks up where Roese's article leaves off, and rounds off the picture nicely.
• Lovely Interview with David Western
  A master carver discusses his work and the history of lovespoons.
• Wikipedia Article on Lovespoons
  Basic article on the subject provides a good top-level overview of the subject.

Learn to Make Your Own Lovespoons

• Carving Expessions
  Web site offers detailed lessons, free patterns, and more
• Woodcarving by George - Classes
  Located in Queens, NY, this woodworking school offers a class on lovespoon carving.

Cadwyn Lovespoons - Traditional Designs

Some of the symbols carved into this group of lovespoons by Cadwyn include hearts (of course!) -- both solid and entwined, horseshoes, and bells. The third spoon pictured is the eternal knot design.

Researchers have found that there is not just a correlation between
low self-esteem and materialism, but also a causal relationship
where low self-esteem INCREASES materialism and materialism can
CREATE low self-esteem. They also found that as an individual's
self-esteem increases, their interest in materialism decreases.
In a study primarily focused on how this relationship effects
children and adolescents, Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of
Minnesota) found that even a simple gesture to raise self-esteem
dramatically decreased materialism.

"By the time children reach early adolescence and experience a
decline in self-esteem, the stage is set for the use of material
possessions as a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth".
The paradox that findings such as these bring up, is that
consumerism is good for the economy in the short run, but bad for
the individual in the long run, especially for young people.

Most of us want more income so we can consume more stuff. However,
several separate studies show that as societies become richer,
they do not become happier. Statistically people have more
material possessions and money than they did fifty years ago, but
they are actually less happy. In fact, the wealthiest countries
have more depression, alcoholism and more crime than they did fifty
years ago and yet we have more material goods to purchase than ever
before. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States,
Australia, continental Europe and Japan.

The real reason people want whatever is currently "hot" or "in
style" is because they believe it will contribute towards their
satisfaction and happiness in life. The word "believe" is the key
here. People believe that buying more and more things, especially
name brand clothes and cars, will make them happy, when in fact
research has shown time and time again that this simply isn't the
case.

The point here is if you believe that when you get enough "stuff"
you will be happy, you are setting yourself up to be very
disappointed. So instead why not be happy NOW?  That's right!  Cut
out the middleman (all that stuff you think will make you happy when
you get it) and just be happy NOW. A radical idea, wouldn't you say?

Today will bring you a new awareness, a lesson or a manifestation
that you are making progress - IF YOU LOOK FOR IT!  No matter how
large or small, please record it in your Evidence Journal. It will
only take a few moments and will AUTOMATICALLY put you in the Flow.

79-year-old Phil Warren from the UK spent 62 years building this incredible fleet of 432 ships and 1200 aircraft, all built entirely of matchsticks and their wooden boxes. The collection includes 370 U.S. and 60 British ships aircraft.and their associated

Now 79 years of age, he began creating his first boat in 1948 when he was 17.  He uses a razor blade, tweezers, sandpaper and glue. He has used more than 650,000 matchsticks to create this amazing collection of 1:300 scale models. 

 

 

(NEW DELHI, India)  --   Scientists at University of New South Wales have turned the ash waste from coal-fired power stations into a global environmental solution which promises to slash emissions in construction sector by 20 per cent.

Researchers at UNSW have converted the fine particulate pollution generated in coal furnaces, known as fly ash, into a new range of high-strength, lightweight building materials.

The new lightweight fly-ash aggregate, known as Flashag, replaces quarried rocks such as blue metal and gravel which are usually mixed in with cement to make concrete. Flashag is the world’s first fly ash aggregate to drastically reduce the volume of cement needed to achieve high strength concrete structures.

UNSW’s commercial arm, NewSouth Innovations, is also negotiating to license the technology in Australia, India, Indonesia, the United States, and the Middle Eastern construction hubs of Dubai and Kuwait.

"The environmental consequences are enormous," says inventor, Dr Obada Kayali, a senior lecturer in Civil Engineering at UNSW@ADFA (the Australian Defence Force Academy).

It’s taken him a decade in the lab, but Dr Kayali says he’s finally turned a global industrial waste burden into a commercially-viable, environmental asset. The big savings in greenhouse gas emissions lie firstly in reducing the volume of cement needed to make high strength concrete.

Cement and concrete is one of the world's dirtiest industries, generating 10 to 12 per cent of all global emissions. Every tonne of cement manufactured, releases one tonne of carbon dioxide and for very person on earth one cubic metre of cement is produce every year.

"Cement is the culprit, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. It is not sustainable any more to produce cement at current rates," says Dr Obada.

China, where half the world’s construction is taking place, recently overtook the United States as the world’s single biggest polluter. The fly-ash products pilot plant opened in the Chinese city of Hebi earlier this year, in a special zone for sustainable industrial technologies and large scale industrial recycling.

Globally, coal-fired power generation has produced billions of tonnes of fly ash waste over the past century, with annual production now at about 800 million tonnes. Uncontrolled it is a serious source of air pollution. A small percentage of the world’s fly ash is already absorbed by the construction industry as an additive to cement, and is mixed-in with clay in bricks.



SOURCE:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A new process stores carbon dioxide in precast concrete.

A Canadian company says that it has developed a way for makers of precast concrete products to take all the carbon-dioxide emissions from their factories, as well as neighboring industrial facilities, and store them in the products that they produce by exposing concrete slurry to carbon-dioxide-rich flue gases during the curing process. Industry experts say that the technology is unproven but holds great potential if it works.

Concrete accounts for more than 5 percent of human-caused carbon-dioxide emissions annually, mostly because cement, the active ingredient in concrete, is made by baking limestone and clay powders under intense heat that is generally produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Making finished concrete products--by mixing cement with water, sand, and gravel--creates additional emissions because heat and steam are often used to accelerate the curing process.

But Robert Niven, founder of Halifax-based Carbon Sense Solutions, says that his company's process would actually allow precast concrete to store carbon dioxide. The company takes advantage of a natural process; carbon dioxide is already reabsorbed in concrete products over hundreds of years from natural chemical reactions. Freshly mixed concrete is exposed to a stream of carbon-dioxide-rich flue gas, rapidly speeding up the reactions between the gas and the calcium-containing minerals in cement (which represents about 10 to 15 percent of the concrete's volume). The technology also virtually eliminates the need for heat or steam, saving energy and emissions.

Work is expected to begin on a pilot plant in the province of Nova Scotia this summer, with preliminary results expected by the end of the year. If it works and is widely adopted, it has the potential to sequester or avoid 20 percent of all cement-industry carbon-dioxide emissions, says Niven. "If the technology is commercialized as planned, it will revolutionize concrete manufacturing and mitigate hundreds of megatons of carbon dioxide each year, while providing manufacturers with a cheaper, greener, and superior product." He adds that 60 tons of carbon dioxide could be stored as solid limestone--or calcium carbonate--within every 1,000 tons of concrete produced. Further, he claims that the end product is more durable, more resistant to shrinking and cracking, and less permeable to water.

"It almost sounds too good to be true," says civil engineer Rick Bohan, director of construction and manufacturing technologies at the Portland Cement Association, in Skokie, Illinois. He points out that the idea of concrete carbonation has been around for decades but has never been economical as a way to strengthen or improve the finished product. In the late 1990s, researchers showed how carbon dioxide could be turned into a supercritical fluid and injected into concrete to make it stronger, but the required high pressures made the process too energy intensive. Carbon Sense Solutions claims to achieve the same goal but under atmospheric pressure and without the need for special curing chambers. "I'd be really skeptical," adds Bohan. "But if someone has a revolutionary process, we'd love to see it."

Precast concrete products represent between 10 and 15 percent of the North American cement and concrete market. While the figure in some European markets is 40 percent, most concrete is mixed and poured at construction sites outside the control of a factory setting (and Carbon Sense Solutions' process). "Considering concrete is the most abundant man-made material on earth, and that the precast market is growing, the estimated carbon dioxide storage potential of this is 500 megatons a year," Niven says. "That is on par with other global carbon dioxide mitigation solutions, such as carbon capture and geological storage."

Research professor Tarun Naik, director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for By-Products Utilization, says that all concrete absorbs carbon dioxide over time if left to cure naturally--but only up to a point. The gas usually penetrates the first one or two millimeters of the concrete's surface before forming a hard crust that blocks any further absorption. Naik says that something as simple as using less sand in a concrete mix can increase the porosity of the finished product and allow more ambient carbon dioxide to be absorbed into the concrete. It's simpler than Carbon Sense Solutions' accelerated curing process and can be applied to a much larger market, he says.

Other groups are taking aim at emissions from the cement-making process itself. Researchers at MIT are seeking new ingredients in cement that are less energy intensive, while companies such as Montreal's CO2 Solution have an enzymatic approach that captures carbon-dioxide emissions from cement-factory flue stacks, converts the greenhouse gas into limestone, and feeds it back into the cement-making process. Calera, backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, even claims that it can remove a ton of carbon dioxide from the environment for every ton of cement it produces.




SOURCE: www.technologyreview.com

(GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan) -- Your roof's old shingles might find new life as a road.

Businesses in Michigan and across the United States are participating in the green trend and bucking the high price of crude oil by recycling asphalt shingles, a mix of asphalt and aggregate, and adding that product into hot mix asphalt used for roads and parking lots.

In the yard of Crutchall Resource Recycling LLC, 631 Chestnut St. SW, the jaws of an excavator grab shingles from a pile and feed them into a grinder. The grinder chews the shingles into pieces just coarser than beach sand and drops them into the container of a large truck.

In 25 minutes, the truck is filled with 26 tons of crushed shingles.

That material, in turn, is taken to a paving company where it makes up about 5 percent of hot mix asphalt.
Tim Cloosterman picks plastic, paper and wood out of a pile of shingles that was dumped at Crutchall Resource Recycling in Grand Rapids. The shingles then go into a crushing machine and are processed into raw materials used in producing asphalt for roads and parking lots.

Any steel, cardboard, wood and plastic that may have gotten into the recycling container with the shingles is separated and recycled.

"We try to landfill as little as possible," said Ellie Kane, administrator for Crutchall's 17 employees in three sites -- Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing.

Shingles, considered solid waste under Michigan regulations, must be disposed of in a landfill unless a company seeks authorization to recycle them. Crutchall got its permit last year.

"We wrote a generic exemption that would authorize the use of shingles and asphalt if the place wishing to do it provided us a management plan that we approved," said Duane Roskoskey, environmental quality specialist with the waste and hazardous materials division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Under the permit, shingles have to be ground so 95 percent of it measures less than one-half inch by one-half inch. And, once ground, they must be used to create hot mix asphalt.

And shingles only can be used if they come from a residential building consisting of four units or fewer, according to the exemption document.

The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants has recommended recyclers only take shingles from residential buildings of four units or fewer because there is a lower risk of having asbestos in those shingles than in shingles of a larger building. Only shingles containing 1 percent of asbestos or less may be used.

"It's because it may be a different shingle or a different type of product on the roof," Kane said.

Besides Crutchall, the only other company in the state permitted to recycle shingles for asphalt is a company in Livonia. The DEQ has written exemptions for recycling other construction materials -- drywall in 2003 and scrap wood in 2006. Roskoskey said he gets a call a day from homeowners looking into recycling construction materials.

For shingles, the key ingredient is petroleum. An average house of 2,000 square feet with two layers of roofing will have five tons of recyclable shingles. That equates to 10 barrels of new oil not needed in the asphalt mix, according to Kane.
Crushed shingles make their way up a conveyor belt and into a truck at Crutchall Resource Recycling in Grand Rapids. Nails are separated from the crushed shingles with magnets.

The "going green" trend hasn't hurt, either.

"I think going green is what started it when all the homeowners and builders started calling, asking where they could recycle their stuff," Roskoskey said. "But I think, in the last year, the high price of oil is what's driven it."

At least half the states in the nation have companies that recycle shingles, according to William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association, based in Eola, Ill.

"Some states have been doing it a lot longer (than Michigan)," Turley said. "We have seen an upswing by the private sector because of the upswing in the price of oil."

Turley equates the trend in asphalt shingle recycling, which started a decade ago, with the start of asphalt pavement recycling 30 years ago. Today, it is common practice and economically savvy to recycle asphalt pavement, according to Turley.

"No one's worried about saving the environment as they are that it makes great economic sense," he said.

Posted by Emily Monacelli | The Grand Rapids Press

(Denver, Colorado)  --  The Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association observed Earth Day in April with the grand opening of a porous asphalt parking lot at the Denver Wastewater Management Facility on West 3rd in Denver. In this partnership with Urban Drainage and Flood Control District and Denver Public Works, 11 CAPA members donated time and expertise to design and reconstruct a portion of this existing urban lot.

"We have a commitment to sustainable building to preserve our environment," Tom Peterson, CAPA director, told the 100 plus contractors, industry participants and media representatives at the opening.

"This asphalt is a new tool in our construction tool box, and we are proud to be a host site for this pilot application," said Terry Baus, P.E., program manager for Denver Public Works.

Ken MacKenzie, P.E., master planning program manager, UDFCD added, "We still have many questions such as, 'How long will it last? How well will porous asphalt remove pollutants? Will installations be properly maintained so they don't fail?' "

The following Denver-area companies provided products and services in the design, construction and performance monitoring of the parking lot constructed April 14 and 15, 2008: Aggregate Industries, Asphalt Paving Co., Brannan Sand and Gravel Co., Kiewit Western Co., Lafarge West, Premier Paving Inc., SEM Materials, CTL/Thompson Inc., Kleinfelder, Terracon, and Vance Brothers.

First developed in the 1970s at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, porous asphalt pavement consists of standard bituminous asphalt in which the aggregate fines (particles smaller than No. 30 sieve) have been screened and reduced, allowing water to pass through the asphalt. A bed of uniformly graded and clean-washed aggregate with a void space of 40 percent is placed underneath the pavement. Storm water drains through the asphalt and is held in the stone recharge bed as it slowly infiltrates into the underlying soil mantle. Or in the case of expansive soils, it can be captured and piped into the storm sewer system. A layer of geotextile filter fabric separates the stone bed from the underlying soil, preventing the movement of fines into the bed. In areas of expansive soils, a waterproof barrier can be placed at the bottom under the aggregate and drainage pipes can be installed on top of the barrier.

The layers at the CAPA pilot lot at the wastewater facility start with a layer of geotextile and perforated pipe for stormwater monitoring. Next is a 6-1/2-inch layer of C-33 sand, then 7 inches of 1-1/2-inch minus gravel (No. 3 aggregate), a 2-inch choker course of three-quarter-inch minus rock (No. 67 aggregate), and 3 inches of open graded friction course hot mix asphalt with half-inch aggregate.
Other Porous Asphalt Installations

Wal-Mart's experimental store: In 2004, Wal-Mart's concrete and asphalt contractors installed 19 different pavement mixes in 14 acres of paving at its experimental green store in Aurora. To set up these experiments, store designers met with the professional paving associations that will share in the information learned. These include the National Asphalt Pavement Association and the Colorado chapter CAPA; the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, which coordinates with local Colorado partners Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association; the Rocky Mountain Cement Council; and the American Concrete Pavement Association Colorado Chapter.

Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. installed Colorado's first porous asphalt in three different sections totaling approximately 1.5 acres of this project lot. All three mixes are gap graded with a minimum of fines. One section has zero-percent Recycled Asphalt Pavement in the surface course while the other two sections have 5-percent RAP and 10-percent RAP in the surface courses. All three sections have 15-percent RAP in the first lift.

A stone infiltration bed underlies all the pavements and connects to two 400-foot-long bioswales planted with xeriscape grasses, trees and shrubs to help trap sediment and pollutants as they capture and filter storm water. Local firms Valley Crest Landscaping and Fiore and Sons built the bioswales designed by Land Resource Design, Steve Clark and Associates Inc. and Kimley-Horn and Associates. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden contracted with Wright Water Engineers to take flow measurements of water from the bioswales. However, no monitoring has been done of storm water quality.

Golden fire station: "While some municipalities are waiting until porous asphalt is tested, I think we need to experiment more with pilot projects and then monitor the performance," observed Jeremy Reichert, public works inspector for the city of Golden. In June 2008, Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. installed a porous asphalt lot of approximately 28,000 square feet for employee parking at the downtown fire station in Golden.

"While some people install porous asphalt so a detention pond is unnecessary, our goal was filtering the water," Reichert explained. "We are right next to the creek, and this system will pre-treat the first flush."

Since the perk rates on the soil were good, this system doesn't use piping. It's all filtration that will migrate into the soil. The sandwich layers for this installation include filter fabric at the bottom of the bed, 8 inches of 1-1/2-inch minus rock, then 4 inches of porous asphalt with a polymer additive. On the next installation of porous asphalt, Golden will install a choker course of smaller aggregate to help stop movement in the stone bed during the paving operation, according to Reichert.

One of Public Works' concerns was whether the porous asphalt would rut. Despite traffic loads up to 30,000 pounds for the trash truck and up to 75,000 pounds for a fully loaded fire truck, the structure of the stone bed so far has held up without rutting. Although the fire trucks exit from the building over concrete to 10th Avenue, the trucks have driven on the porous pavement section of the lot without consequence. According to Reichert, the city did allow the lot to cure for seven days before use, particularly as installation took place during a long stretch of hot weather.

Another concern is whether asphalt, being a tacky material, will collect fines that will affect the filtration performance. Maintenance will be high-power vacuuming to remove dust and sands. The city also plans to do some coring as it monitors the lot for fines, Reichert said.

Denver apartment parking lot: Mike Gerber of MGL Partners, developer and owner of the Paloma Villas at Morrison Road and South Stuart Street in Denver, said he is pleased with the new porous asphalt lot supplied by Lafarge and installed by Gilbert Contracting of Brighton this past July. Without the filtration provided by the porous asphalt, a detention pond eliminating one-third of the available rental units would have been required.

Bob Thayer of BC Builders, Centennial, said the work space was tight for trucks bringing in the aggregate for the stone reservoir and the paving for the three lots located between the existing buildings. Gilbert Contracting installed the porous asphalt from Lafarge on approximately 2,000 square yards in the three lots, providing parking for 60 cars. Since the soil at this site is expansive, a vapor barrier and underdrain system make up the bottom layer, then a 12-inch-deep stone reservoir course of 3-inch minus aggregate, a 2-inch choker course and a 4-inch layer of open graded hot mix asphalt.
Monitoring Porous Asphalt

While the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District expects porous asphalt to improve the quality of storm water, much sampling and analysis remains, according to UDFCD's Ken MacKenzie.

"In storm water monitoring you can take a number of samples and get wildly differing numbers from each one of them," he explained. "However, when you take enough samples, a trend will emerge."

How many samples are enough? Ideally eight to 10 storms per season for three seasons could reveal a trend, MacKenzie said. Denver has had a long, dry summer with only a few significant storms, but UDFCD is committed to monitoring for at least three years to measure the storm water quality of the water filtering through the new porous asphalt at the Denver Wastewater Management Division Facility.

Story by Carol Carder -- Rocky Mountain Construction