Owens Corning Shingles Recycling Efforts

Allied Roofing Solutions is proud to have earned the designation of an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor and, as a result, partnered closely with Owens Corning by using their products for shingle roofs. Owens Corning has the goal of diverting two million tons of asphalt shingles each year from landfills by 2030. Currently, they are taking an important step toward reaching their circular economy goals with the announcement of enhanced shingle recycling efforts. Their announcement discloses a plan to accomplish this goal in two ways: 1) recycling shingles into new shingles and 2) recycling shingles into asphalt pavement. 

This recycling program reflects the quality product our shingles supplier strives to deliver. Additionally, it is evidence that Owens Corning is committed to improving both its products and the environment. In this article, we provide information on how Owens Corning is executing this plan and the benefits of its recycling program.

Two Paths 

There are two paths to reach the objective Owens Corning has for 2030. One is proven and the company is advancing upon that–recycling asphalt from shingles into paving. In order to make that happen, Owens Corning has to manipulate the shingles so that they fit the process properly. 

The second path is to break down the shingles and put the materials back into their processes to create new shingles. Working with an outside company in a pilot, Owens Corning has shown that they have the ability to do this.

Making Recycled Shingles Into New Shingles

Shingles are designed to be very durable. By their very nature, shingles last a very long time. So, when a shingle is at the end of its useful life because either it has been on a roof many years or it is damaged from a storm, Owens Corning needs to do something with that shingle. Recycling it and using the components in manufacturing a new shingle has accomplished that effort. 

Challenge of Deconstructing the Shingle

One of the biggest challenges Owens Corning faced in this recycling effort was deconstructing the components of the asphalt shingle. Getting the components out of the shingles to then use in the manufacturing of new shingles was key in meeting their objectives. 

The solution has been to find companies in the market who have expertise in recycling shingles. By partnering with such companies, they are looking at creating new ways to approach deconstructing the shingles into their base components. It is not an easy process; but, they have been successful in breaking the shingles apart and using those elements back in their manufacturing process.

Realized Benefits

There are several realized benefits from recycling used shingles to make new ones:

• Offering recycled content into the market
• Increasing the sustainability of products
• Reducing the overall embodied carbon of the products
• Solving the problem of shingles going into landfills

Producing a Product with Higher Value Materials

Using recycled shingles produces a product with higher-value materials, which means Owens Corning will put more of those products into new shingles. The end goal is to take the products and make a circular economy with them by putting the new shingles onto the roofs of homeowners across the country. 

Recycling Shingles Into Asphalt Pavement

Recycling shingles can be useful in manufacturing asphalt pavement as well as the shingles industry. Owens Corning has a unique advantage in their ability to transform used shingles into the correct formulation so that the materials ultimately can be put back onto the roadways. Their teams of scientists who work in asphalt renovation have been successful in working with their commercial paving customers to help provide technical guidance so they can include recycled asphalt shingles into their mix designs. In doing this work, Owens Corning has already diverted 40 million pounds of shingles from landfills since 2020.

The Future of Recycling Asphalt Shingles

There isn’t simply one strategy to solve the problem of the number of shingles that go into landfills in a given year. Experts at Owens Corning think that the paving strategy and a deconstruction strategy in putting the materials back into shingles are both options they want to pursue.

Their primary goal is to put circular economy solutions into the markets and add value to:

• Customers
• Contractors
• The market overall

Contact New Jersey's Allied Roofing Solutions Today

When you are in need of a roof repair or a roof replacement, call your New Jersey roofing contractor. At Allied Roofing Solutions, we are ready to help you with any roofing issues. We serve New Jersey residents in Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Morris County, Passaic County, and Somerset County.  Please call us at (201) 773-0633 or fill out our free estimate form to schedule a complimentary roof inspection for repair, or replacement.