Not surprisingly, rising removal costs, coupled with the growing demand in some areas of the country to legislate landfill content, are putting pressure on contractors and building owners to seek alternatives to traditional roof construction scrap and tear-off disposal methods.<\/p>\n
In response, greater numbers of roofing manufacturers and contractors are driving strategies to avoid the landfill. A general review of emerging trends across the roofing industry suggests manufacturers and contractors increasingly are turning to recycling to steer these materials from the waste stream.<\/p>\n
![\"Steel](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screen-Shot-2014-09-23-at-3.09.20-PM-234x300.png\")
<\/a>Steel is the most recycled material in building construction today. PHOTO: STEEL RECYCLING INSTITUTE<\/p><\/div>\n
METAL<\/h4>\n
Metal roofing\u2019s sustainable attributes are significant. Industry experts cite its ability to improve a building\u2019s energy efficiency, and metal today contains anywhere from 25 to 95 percent recycled material.<\/p>\n
On its website, the Chicago-based Metal Construction Association (MCA)<\/a> encourages installing metal roofing directly over an existing roof, thus eliminating the need to dispose of the original materials. But when an older metal roof or new-construction debris must be removed from a site, contractors and owners in most regions of the country can quickly identify scrap yards that take metal.<\/p>\n \u201cSteel is the most recycled material in building construction today,\u201d says MCA Technical Director Scott Kriner. \u201cThere\u2019s an infrastructure that supports it, and metal in general is virtually 100 percent recyclable.\u201d Kriner notes MCA supports recycling as part of the metal industry\u2019s overall commitment to environmental sustainability and transparency in business.<\/p>\n PVC has been used in roofing systems since the 1960s, and the post-consumer recycling of roof membranes began in North America in 1999\u2014a nice symmetry when one considers roofs in terms of 30-year life cycles.<\/p>\n In general terms, the recycling of PVC roofing is a relatively straightforward process. The material is sliced into long strips, rolled up, lifted off the roof and transported to a recycling center. Recyclers run the PVC through a conveyor system, where fasteners and other metal objects are removed.<\/p>\n Initially, the recovered membrane was ground into powder for reuse in molded roof walkway pads. More recently, some manufacturers have been incorporating a granulated form into new PVC roofing membranes, exclusively on the backside to avoid aesthetic issues with color variations. The first installations of membrane produced with post-consumer recycled composition occurred in the mid-1990s. So far, its field performance has matched that of PVC roofing produced with virgin raw materials.<\/p>\n The Vinyl Institute<\/a>, Alexandria, Va., says close to 1 billion pounds of vinyl are recycled at the postindustrial level yearly. \u201cThe vinyl industry has a history of supporting recycling,\u201d the institute reports on its website, \u201cand this effort continues as companies, alone and through their trade associations, expand existing programs and explore new opportunities to recover vinyl products at the end of their useful life.\u201d<\/p>\n Ethylene propylene diene terpolymer is used extensively on low-slope commercial buildings. Yet even this durable synthetic rubber membrane must eventually be replaced, and today recycling is a viable option.<\/p>\n The removal process generally involves power-vacuuming off the stone ballast, where present, to expose the EPDM membrane below. The membrane can then be cut into manageable squares, which are folded and stacked on pallets, loaded onto a truck and transported for recycling. The recycler grinds it into crumbs or powder, depending on the end use. A growing number of recycling centers nationwide now handles EPDM. \u201cSimply put, EPDM lasts a very long time and can also be recycled, making it one of the most sustainable roofing products available today,\u201d adds John Geary, association chairman and vice president of marketing for Indianapolis-based Firestone Building Products<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recycling asphalt is often cheaper than the landfill option and can be made even less expensive if tear-off materials are separated properly at the building site. PHOTO: OWENS CORNING<\/p><\/div> Recycling asphalt is often cheaper than the landfill option and can be made even less expensive if tear-off materials are separated properly at the building site. Asphalt recycling service providers and drop-off locations are now active in 50 major markets in the U.S.<\/p>\n Recycled shingles can be ground up for asphalt paving mix used in roadways. The Washington, D.C.-based Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA)<\/a> says ground-up shingles typically represent up to 5 percent of pavement and often improve its quality, increasing its resistance to wear and moisture, deformation and cracking. Owens Corning estimates shingle debris from the average American home could help pave 200 feet of a two-lane highway.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have a shared responsibility to be environmentally conscious and protect our planet in any way we can,\u201d says ARMA Executive Vice President Reed Hitchcock. \u201cRoof recycling not only reduces greenhouse-gas emissions and waste and conserves landfill space, it also contributes to a more sustainable world.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the roofing material in question, the issue of logistics often proves the greater challenge than the recycling process itself. Contractors must segregate the roofing material from other waste and prepare it properly for transport. The right transportation must be arranged, often when timing is critical. A recycler who handles the discarded roofing material, preferably one located a reasonable distance away, must be identified.<\/p>\n But the \u201cup\u201d side is growing. New resources are emerging. Entrepreneurs are entering the market to invest in new collection and processing systems in more parts of the country. This will make it easier for roofers and building owners to find specialty recyclers that can meet a project\u2019s schedule and budget, two key considerations.<\/p>\n Raw materials are finding new life in everything from commercial flooring to roadbeds; some even go into the next generation of roofing materials to provide another 30 years of service. This, in turn, reduces the demand for virgin materials. In addition to the benefits of avoiding possible financial penalties and keeping the material out of the landfill, recycling roofing generates jobs and encourages experimentation to discover other uses for these recycled materials.<\/p>\n When one considers the billions of square feet of roofing already manufactured and installed in North America in the 21st century alone, recycling\u2019s role in reducing waste and improving efficiency appears virtually without limit.<\/p>\n View general information about recycling industry trends, conferences and resources nationwide.<\/a> <\/p>\n Metal:<\/strong> Visit Earth911.com\/recyclingguide\/how-to-recycle-metal for fundamental information. The Internet features a multitude of scrap yards and recyclers that handle metal nationally.<\/p>\n PVC:<\/strong> The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers<\/a> represents companies that acquire, process and sell post-consumer plastic waste. <\/p>\n EPDM:<\/strong> The EPDM Roofing Association<\/a> includes recycling information on its website.<\/p>\n Asphalt:<\/strong> Recycling centers are available across the U.S. and in Canada and can be found online via resources including info@ShingleRecycling.org<\/a> and info@Earth911.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the early 2000s, as the green-building movement reached its tipping point, the roofing industry\u2019s contributions to sustainability focused on increasing energy efficiency, improving long-term…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":1773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Roofing Manufacturers and Contractors Embrace Recycling","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[26,29],"tags":[116,1036,127,1226,1305,348,612,779,1422,516,232],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nPVC<\/h4>\n
EPDM<\/h4>\n
\n
\n\u201cIn many cases, an EPDM roof can be recycled at no additional cost to the roofer or building owner,\u201d says Ellen Thorp, associate executive director of the EPDM Roofing Association<\/a>, Bethesda, Md. \u201cRoofing contractors can include the recycling in their project estimate to make their bid stand out. Building owners can recycle their EPDM membrane to meet sustainability goals
\nand reduce waste at their facilities. Architects can write the recycling process into their new roof specifications.\u201d<\/p>\nASPHALT<\/h4>\n
![\"Recycling](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screen-Shot-2014-09-23-at-3.09.42-PM-300x220.png\")
<\/a>
\nAccording to Brattleboro, Vt.-based Northeast Recycling Council<\/a> estimates, 11 million tons of asphalt-shingle scrap from tear-offs and manufacturing plants are produced annually in the U.S. Every ton recycled is equivalent to saving one barrel of oil in the form of asphalt from going to the landfill. Many roofing contractors also have found that offering to recycle shingles gives them an advantage over the competition, among environmentally aware customers.<\/p>\nRECYCLING\u2019S INFINITE POTENTIAL<\/h4>\n
RESOURCES FOR RECYCLING INFORMATION<\/h3>\n