Where do roof shingles go once removed from my roof?
There are dozens of different types of roofing shingles, including asphalt, slate, wood, solar concrete, and fiberglass. Each has a level of weather resistance as well as some with energy efficiency.
They all have one thing in common: eventually they need to be replaced.
So where do they go when they are removed? Most shingles are put into containers or dumpsters and taken to landfills or recycling plants to be processed.
Asphalt shingles are the most common type of shingle material. Industry experts estimate that asphalt shingles take between 300-400 years to fully decompose.
For this reason, they are not regularly put in landfills since they would take up a lot of room, making less room for other items. Most of the asphalt shingles are recycled.
The shingles are ground up by machinery and the end-product is sent to asphalt plants to be used in new highway pavement projects. The shingles from an average sized house can pave about 200 feet of a two-lane highway.
Some roofing shingles might contain hazardous waste materials like asbestos. If this is the case, then disposal companies need to take extra precautions in disposing of the asbestos.
Roofing contractors need to disclose to the disposal companies about the asbestos so that they can take the shingles to the proper disposal location.
Wood shingles can be disposed of normally in dumpsters. The only time this becomes a problem is if the wood shingles were treated with a waterproofing sealant.
If this is the case, then the wood shakes need to be handled differently so the waterproofing does not seep into the ground water sources.
Solar concrete shingles need to be processed specifically to deal with solar energy panels. Special regulations for disposal should be addressed with the removal company prior to doing the work.
Trust C&C Family Roofing & Siding for all your siding and roofing needs. Call us at 215-999-6248.