Having a roof over your head—any roof—is something we should all try not to take for granted. Whether that roof is in good condition and can meet your demands, of course, is another matter. Each year, thousands of homeowners in the Portland, OR area choose to have their homes re-roofed to provide greater protection and increase overall household energy efficiency. While new roofing can be essential, a great deal of waste is created in the process.

The Interstate Initiative to Recycle Roofing Waste

When it comes to roof installation, Interstate does more than just handle basic installation tasks. We’re proud to be a local green business leader by recycling the roofing waste created on our jobs. We’ve been recognized by the City of Portland as a Premier Service Company because we always work hard to meet our client needs while keeping our community and environment in mind. Our recycling initiative is just one example of how we demonstrate our concern for our customers.

In order to recycle all of the wood and metal materials that come off our roofing jobs, we’ve created an in-house transportation division to coordinate the transfer of waste to recycling facilities. As a certified green roofing contractor, we sent more than 10,000,000 pounds of roofing debris to recycling centers last year. This means that we didn’t add to the burden of our local landfills.

For homeowners who want to boost overall efficiency, having a roof replaced is just the first step in bringing energy costs under control. If you plan on having green roofing materials installed, take time to think about other green solutions for your home. Eco-friendly lighting, heating and cooling solutions can work together with a new, efficient roof to cut down substantially on energy usage.

Why Is Recycling Roofing Waste So Important?

Some 7 to 10 million tons of waste is created each year by roofing replacement. Even worse than the volume of the waste, asphalt shingles aren’t biodegradable and will take up space in landfills forever unless they are recycled or repurposed.

Recycling roofing materials also does more than just cut down on waste. They’re often used in road construction, where they offset the need for new materials produced in factories that put out heavy pollution. By reducing the demand for these materials, recycling roofing also helps to cut down on the overall level of industrial pollution in the U.S. As more roofers adopt recycling programs, the cost benefits for consumers will be greater.

If you’d like to have your roofing replaced but don’t want to create waste while doing so, contact one of our friendly professionals at Interstate about your options today.