Pavement Recyclers/Bagela USA received the 2012 Connecticut Green Business Awards’ Green Business of the Year award.

“Basically what our equipment does is take a 100-percent recyclable resource and recycles 100 percent of it into quality reusable asphalt,” said Greg Harla, director of sales and marketing.

The recycling process, said Harla, has minimal petroleum burn-off. That’s achieved through a heating process that produces only environmentally friendly steam during the course of conversion.

Harla established the company along with Technical Director Alan Thompson and Managing Partner Dave Brennan. When Harla took a closer look at the industry, he became convinced that Bagela Asphalt Recyclers was the right product line for the company.

The 100 percent re-use is what impressed him most.

“Asphalt is one of the few commodities with which you’re able to do that,” he said. “With tires and glass there’s always some sort of by-product. Asphalt is 100 percent recyclable.”

Pavement Recyclers customers are about 50-50 between private contractors and municipalities. The state of Connecticut is among its clients. So are other states, including Kansas and Texas.

Even though there’s a growing emphasis on green manufacturing and production throughout the country, this method of asphalt recycling remains fairly novel, said Harla.

“My job is to promote the concept along with the equipment. It’s more about educating the markets that this technology is available. And not only is it available, we sell it.”