Limiting environmental impact has become popular in every area of life, so it's no surprise when homeowners bring up green roofing during home improvement projects. It is possible to cut down on the resources used when you need a new roof. Most homeowners in Cowetta and neighboring areas typically replace existing asphalt shingle roofs. As you may have heard, recycled shingles made of asphalt are now paving many roads throughout Georgia. Here's how the process will benefit your community when you need roof replacement.
Facts about asphalt shingles
According to Owens Corning, about 10 million tons of shingles that could be recycled come off roofs on an annual basis. These figures were quoted in 2012 by the Northeast Recycling Council, meaning the numbers have likely risen since. The process of recycling asphalt shingles from roofs is complex. The shingles are brought to local recycling locations, melted and used by municipalities to pave roads with asphalt.
When shingles are not recycled, they are transported to local landfills that are already maxed out in most states. According to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturer Association (ARMA), having your shingles taken for recycling means they will be used for roads, cement kiln fuel or recycled into roofing material. No asphalt mining is necessary when these recycling centers have shingles to repurpose on-site. Local recycling facilities also benefit from the volume of shingles they receive.
When you'll turn in recycled shingles
Your roof's asphalt shingles have a finite life span. If you have received decades of use from an asphalt-shingle roof, it may turn out to be too expensive to continue repairing damage. In this event, you should explore the cost of a new roof and compare it to the cost of future repairs. Homeowners often find the investment in a new roof makes sense with respect to home comfort and future maintenance.
Depending on the policy in your town, you may have access to free recycling in the Atlanta area. The best way to find out is to ask roofers when they come to offer you an estimate on a new roof. Findlay Roofing will be happy to help you explore the options when you want to recycle the shingles from your roof. Findlay won the Green Recycling Pledge Award from Owens Corning for contributing the most recycled shingles in the country in 2013. All told, Findlay recycled 65,000 tons of shingles from area roofs.
Recycling your roof's old shingles means lower costs for the municipality and less waste in the landfills, not to mention the need for fewer resources to be used for road paving. It's a true win-win situation for your community.
