Asphalt Shingle Recycling Saves $50K In Annual Dump Fees

How We Are Saving Money While Saving The Environment

Problem, over 11 million tons (22 billions lbs) of asphalt roofing materials are dumped in U.S. landfills each year. Problem, at an average of $125 per ton to dispose of this material contractors are taking a pretty big hit on their job cost, which ultimately gets passed down to the homeowners looking to re-roof. Now for the good news! There is a solution to both problems by participating in asphalt shingle recycling programs. Asphalt shingles can be turned into RAS, or recycled asphalt shingles which can be reused for products such as roads, asphalt-based sealants and more. At the same time dump fees can be reduced to as little as $75 or less depending on where you are in the country. Now this is a solution that makes both dollars and cents!

Breakdown Of Financial Savings By Recycling Asphalt Shingles

Here are the mathematical facts that will do all of the persuading necessary to encourage you to recycle your shingles. We utilize a local recycling company called Glacier, so the figures will be taken from what they currently charge us in Washington. Lets say the average roofer installs 2 homes per week and that the average home has a roof with a surface area of 2,500 square feet (25 squares). On average, each square weighs approximately 240 pounds. Each home produces about 6,000 pounds of asphalt roofing waste and costs approximately $420 to dispose of. At the install volume of 2 houses per week the yearly annual cost of dumping for a local roofing company is $43,680. That’s a lot of money.

Now let’s compare that to the cost of disposing of the same exact material at a shingle recycling plant. At just $75 per ton, the average cost to dispose of 25 squares of roofing is only $225. We can save $195.00 per home, $390 per week, $1,638 per month and $23,400 per year! Considering how many years we were not recycling and paying out the big bucks while destroying the ecosystem, this is a thrilling number and a great reason to be a roofing contractor dedicated to green initiatives.

How We Really Got Started Recycling Our Tear-Offs

We looked into recycling programs a while ago but had a hard time locating a plant that was close and affordable. We found a company that is about 35 minutes from our office, but they actually charge $2 more per ton that the dump we were using. While performing some research, we came across GAF Roofing Corporations recycling program. They provided a link to http://www.shinglerecycling.org/ which helps you  to find local plants that recycle and produce RAS. We were able to connect with Glacier, which is only 15 minutes from our shop  and $65 less per ton than our normal rate. Thank you GAF for providing yet another incredible source that has been a game changer for us! We are now a GAF Certified Green Roofer, and it has truly made a difference in our company, and certainly our local eco-system.