How To Recycle Phoenix Roofing Materials

January 9, 2014 – Phoenix, Arizona

Sooner or later we all need a new roof, but when its time to tear off the old roof more and more Phoenix residents are looking for ways to recycle the materials rather than throwing them into a landfill. As landfill availability decreases and as we see the effects of solid waste on the environment that we all share, both private individuals and commercial companies are becoming more interested in finding alternative ways of disposing of solid waste.

Recycling your old roofing reduces our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of recyclable materials sent to landfills and also reducing the amount of new resources taken from the earth each year.

If your shingles are still usable, you might also consider donating them. Charitable organizations such as ReUse People, sends donated materials to families in need, thereby helping low income families while helping to reduce the amount of solid waste from building and roof repair projects. Habitat for Humanity also needs used building materials to construct homes for those with low incomes.

Some people have concerns about asbestos being present in old roofing shingles, but the chance of shingles containing asbestos today is extremely low. Asbestos is no longer used in the manufacture of asphalt roofing shingles.

Most roofing materials can be recycled, including tile, shingle, asphalt, wood, clay, aluminum, and steel. Metal roofing can be melted down, and used for many new products. Concrete roofing can be crushed into stone, and wood roofing materials can be ground up, chipped or even re-milled to create many new products such as flooring, particleboard, pet bedding or mulch.

Asphalt shingles are by far the most common roofing material used in Phoenix Arizona. The average house has between three and five tons of shingles. Waste from asphalt shingle roof repair and re-roofing projects in Phoenix makes up nearly ten percent of the total solid waste created in the building industry. Approximately ten million tons of asphalt roofing ends up in landfills each year in the United States.

At Arizona Native Roofing we are doing our part to change that. Recycling asphalt roofing shingles requires many steps, but is well worth the effort to protect the environment and save resources. To get shingles ready for use in new products, the shingles must first be ground up, and then the contaminants must be removed. Asphalt shingle waste can be used in a wide variety of products such as; new roofing, fuel oil, ground cover, patching material for potholes, sidewalks and asphalt pavement.

The greatest prospective marketplace for recycled asphalt shingles are highway departments. Due to the amount of petroleum used in manufacturing asphalt, the cost of asphalt rises in correlation with the rising cost of petroleum. By substituting a very small amount of recycled shingle for road building it can greatly lower the cost while conserving resources, and it does not interfere with the quality of the product.

If you are doing your own roof repair you should locate a shingle recycler in your area. It’s less expensive to take the shingles to a recycler for grinding than it is to take the shingles to the landfill. The difference may be as much as a few hundred dollars per load.

During the tear off its best to use separate waste containers for each material you will be recycling. Get one for the shingles, another for the wood and another for the nails. You will also need to remove any pieces of wood, paper or matting still attached to the shingles. You can use a large magnet to find staples, nails, and other metal waste materials you have missed, and then remove them with the claw end of a hammer.

The impact of recycling used shingles into asphalt affects nearly everyone. The reduction in landfills is obvious, but many don’t realize that by reusing the oil in the shingles torn off of an average house it will save at least ten new barrels of oil used in asphalt mix.

Asphalt made with recycled shingles is less costly to produce since it requires less new oil. Companies can then pass that savings on to you. Whether the consumer is you having your driveway paved or your state paving your street, you save money.

According to studies, asphalt containing recycled shingle material is more durable than asphalt that does not contain recycled shingle material. Asphalt containing recycled shingles resists pot holes, cracking and wear. When the pavement lasts longer it saves you money on sidewalks, driveways and taxes. Recycling roofing materials is a win-win proposition.