Recycling building parts

SECURITY ROOFING OWNER Reid Ribble no longer sees the old shingles his company tears off buildings as waste to be landfilled.

That's because asphalt shingles Security Roofing removes get ground down into their basic components - asphalt, limestone, fiberglass and aggregate - and reused as asphalt pavement.

An Elkhorn company uses a heating process to reclaim the petroleum ingredients in the asphalt from the shingles.

"This is a shift in paradigm," says Ribble. "Instead of seeing debris in a landfill, you see barrels of oil."

Security is among a growing number of companies that are repurposing building materials in an attempt to cut down on landfill waste.

"We used to advise our customers not to get a complete tear-off if they could avoid it, because we knew the day would come when shingles could be recycled," says Ribble. "That day has come."

A March reroofing of Calvary Bible Church in Neenah ordinarily would have put 58 tons of solid waste into the landfill, he says. But Security recycled all of it, right down to the metal flashing, underlayment and the nails.