What Happens To Used Shingles?

The crew at Asonic sometimes completes two or three roofs in one day. That’s a lot of shingles being torn off! It has been estimated that in Calgary alone, over 2500 new roofs are installed. With the average roof replacement generating around 5000 pounds of waste, that is more than 9 million tones of unusable roofing material.
Regardless of whether or not you are an eco-friendly activist, it’s easy to see how roofing can impact the environment if the waste is not properly taken care of. If all of this waste ended up in the landfill, not only would it take up a huge amount of space, it would also lead to harmful emissions and chemical leaking.



So, what do we do with these obsolete shingles?Shingles are made out of asphalt, which is mainly made out of oil. And thankfully, that means asphalt shingles are recyclable. And in our wonderful city of Calgary, the city landfill has made this an extremely easy process. Most roofers in Calgary take advantage of this, but we recommend asking your roofing company if they will be recycling or dumping the old shingles. If they choose not to recycle the shingles, you may want to consider going with a different company, especially if you are concerned about the environment.


What about wooden shingles?
Wooden shakes have many benefits – besides the look and style, they are extremely durable and long-lasting. They also have many uses after they have maxed out their lifespan on your roof. Wooden shingles can be recycled and turned into animal bedding or wood insulation, or artfully re-purposed as photo frames, welcome signs, mirror borders or coasters. We’ve seen people use them to build potters and shelves or even used to add a distinct, smoky flavour to meats and fishes while barbequing!


Looking for a more environmentally-friendly option?
There are now shingles that are made out of recycled roofing materials, such as GEM’s Euroshield rubber roofing. You can take comfort knowing that these shingles are made out of recycled tires, making your carbon footprint smaller and as an added benefit, these shingles are extremely durable!
Now that you know a little bit about what happens to the shingles on your roof once they’ve reached their life span, hopefully you will feel better when it comes to replacement your roof. Especially when you go with Asonic Roofing, you’ll never have to worry about excess garbage making its way to the landfill.