Breaking New Ground With Old Shingles

Companies like Owens Corning and IKO are blazing the sustainability trail with their shingle recycling initiatives. 

Construction waste can be just that, wasteful. According to the Allied Market Research, 10 million tons of asphalt shingle waste is created every year but only 1.5 million tons are recycled. With that in mind, some shingle manufacturers have decided to take action and implement shingle recycling programs.  

Owens Corning is a leading name in the roofing industry for their high-quality shingles. The company has also long been committed to sustainable practices and recently pledged to divert two million tons of shingles annually by 2030. With their program, the old shingles will be either be recycled into new shingles or asphalt paving.  

They are currently piloting this program by partnering with ASR Systems and CRS Reprocessing Services. Together, they will test out different processes for recycling old shingles into new materials. These new raw materials will then be sent to Owens Corning manufacturing facilities where they will be made into new shingles and tested further. 

In a press release highlighting their new program, Roofing President Gunner Smith stated, “We have invested in shingle recycling efforts through both internal expertise and collaboration with external partners. This has generated significant learnings that will enable us to accelerate our shingle recycling ambitions and advance this work across the industry to keep shingles out of landfills.” 

Another major asphalt shingle manufacturer who is implementing a recycling program is IKO Industries. The company recently announced that their plant in Hawkesbury, Ontario will be fully commissioning their Asphalt Shingle Recycling Line. This plant began their pilot program in 2021 and became fully operational by winter 2022-2023. Like Owens Corning, IKO also partnered with ASR Systems to develop their shingle recycling program. 

Dan Horton, a founding partner of ASR Systems, stated, “IKO is among the first asphalt shingle manufacturers in North America to achieve true circularity at one of its shingle plant locations with an in-line waste recycling process. It is also the first manufacturer, to my knowledge, that has developed a commercialized shingle recycling center that re-uses the recycled raw material output in the production of new shingles.” 

For contractors looking for a way to recycle their shingle waste, we recommend visiting Earth911.com. There you can search for a recycling center nearest you that will take those old shingles off your hands. If you are an Owens Corning Contractor Network member, you can also take a pledge to team up with a shingle recycling plant in your area and keep those old shingles out of landfills. 

Photo credit: Owens Corning