Recycling, Upcycling and Repurposing: Benefits of PVC Membrane

By IB Roof Systems. 

After hail caused functional damage to this roofing system in Norman, Oklahoma, IB Roof Systems used repurposed PVC membrane as its solution. 

At IB Roof Systems, we work hard to provide sustainable solutions and durable roofing systems that will positively contribute to the environment. In June 2023, hail damage threatened the roof of a project in Norman, Oklahoma. We were able to remove and recycle the year-and-a-half-old PVC roofing membrane to ensure the material did not end up in a landfill. 

“Sustainability is a team effort. Many contractors don’t know that PVC roofing membranes can be recycled. Thank you, John McHugh, owner of Mallard Construction, for stepping up and letting us know of this opportunity. 80,000 square feet of PVC membrane will have an extended useful 20-year life instead of sitting in a landfill,” says Shawn Stanley, sustainability director for IB Roof Systems.  

John McHugh of Mallard Construction shares more about the project: 

“Hey, I'm John McHugh with Mallard Construction here in Norman, Oklahoma. We're at the park on Main project in Norman, Oklahoma. This roof is an eight-building project, and it was damaged by a hailstorm in April of 2021. We then called IB. They came out and helped us with the engineers and got the roof paid through the insurance carrier. And after we installed it, not two months later in October, the building was hit with hail again. The membrane was not visibly damaged. However, the substrate, the ISO board, had been fractured. And so, therefore, there was functional damage to the roofing system. And we were just obviously disappointed. As we know, IV can last 30 to 40 years in our climate. And so, I reached out to Jason Stanley and said, man, I don't feel comfortable tearing this roof off and putting it in a landfill. And he was like, John, we have been working on different projects with other entities. And he said we can do that. I don't know that it's recycling. It may be repurposing or using the material in another manner rather than ending up in the landfill and causing additional problems. So here we are now, June of 2023, and we started the reroofing project, and we're here repurposing this PVC membrane.” 

Original article source: IB Roof Systems