Recycling the Roof Savannah GA

Source: REMODELING Magazine

By Clayton DeKorne

Roof tear-offs account for an estimated 11 million tons or about 53 million cubic yards of landfill waste each year. And, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, asphalt shingles represent up to 10% of residential jobsite waste. These are all big enough figures to stimulate developing markets for recycled roofing shingles. The primary reuse is in hot-mix asphalt for paving roads, and some is also used in cold-patch formulations for fixing potholes. Old shingles are also sometimes ground up and mixed with gravel to help control dust on unpaved roads.

For roofers there are real advantages to recycling, explains William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA). “In some states it is easier to recycle shingles than to dump them in the landfill. Where recycling facilities exist, they are often located closer in town, so there's less trucking involved. Most facilities that recycle also charge a lower tipping fee.” The cost averages around $30 per ton or roughly $10 less per ton than ordinary construction waste. Roofers will need to separate out wood and other construction debris, but Turley says most roofers just make a separate pile, which is usually small, and throw that on top of the shingle load so it can be pulled off at the recycling facility.

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