My first exposure to the concept of recycling asphalt shingles goes back to the late 1970s, when a fellow named Joe set up a shingle-recycling business in South Florida. He wore pointy-toed lizard boots, which made me suspicious. But the concept was just so darn compelling.
Joe was going to change the world by taking loads of shingle tear-off, separating the metal and wood, grinding up the asphalt and aggregate, and selling it for paving. Long story short: it did not work out the way he planned it.