Shingle Recycling Terms & Info

The US alone generates approximately 11 million tons of shingle waste annually.

Asphalt shingles comprise approximately two thirds of the U.S. market for new residential roofs and re-roofing projects.

Asphalt roofing shingles contain the basic materials used in hot-mix asphalt road pavement, providing an excellent supplement for the asphalt binder and aggregate used to make paving mixes.

Asphalt Shingle Contents

Asphalt cement / asphalt binder*

20 - 25% for fiberglass mat base shingles
30 - 36% for cellulose felt base (organic) shingles

Rotochopper RG-1 Grinding Asphalt Shingle Waste. * Asphalt cement is produced through the partial refinement of petroleum.

Aggregate

20 - 38%
Ceramic-coated rock refined to a specific size specification

Mat / backing

2 - 15%
Fiberglass or cellulose (felt or paper)

Mineral filler / stabilizer

8 - 40%
Minerals that include limestone, dolomite and silica

Percentages vary by manufacturer, construction type (fiberglass vs. organic), shingle age, and other factors.

Shingle Recycling Terms

Manufacturer’s waste

(Manufacturer’s rejects, Manufacturing scrap, Factory shingle waste)

Waste generated during shingle manufacturing, including whole shingles rejected because of defects.

Approximately 1 million tons per year in the USA (out of roughly 11 million tons)
20% - 25% percent asphalt cement content

Tear-off shingles

(Post-consumer shingle waste, Construction shingle waste)

Shingle waste removed from roofs, as well as scrap from new roofing projects.

Approximately 10 million tons per year in the USA (out of roughly 11 million tons)
Generally has higher asphalt cement content than manufacturing waste (up to 30 percent)
Typically contains roofing nails and other materials that need to be removed prior to end use. Nails and other ferrous metal can be separated magnetically.

RAS

(Recycled Asphalt Shingles)

Properly ground up shingle waste that is ready for end use.

RAP

(Recycled Asphalt Pavement)

Pavement reclaimed and reused in new pavement. Some states allow for use of RAP along with recycled asphalt shingles (RAS).

Asbestos

A known carcinogen used in construction materials before the 1980s. Shingle recyclers are required to test tear-off waste for asbestos. Testing of asphalt shingles performed by shingle recyclers for over a decade has shown an extremely low occurrence rate of asbestos in tear-off shingle waste. In fact, asbestos was more common in mastics and sealants than in shingles, making shingle recycling safe with proper testing and operating precautions.

Hot Mix Asphalt

(HMA)

Asphalt paving material produced by heating asphalt binder and mixing it with aggregate that has been dried to an appropriate moisture content.

Warm Mix Asphalt

(WMA or WAM)

Asphalt paving material produced at lower temperatures than traditional HMA. Warm Mix Asphalt refers to several technologies that allow asphalt paving materials to be mixed, handled, and applied at lower temperatures. Like asphalt shingle recycling, warm mix technology can offer significant savings, requiring much less energy to heat the asphalt mix. Testing has shown promising results for use of recycled asphalt shingles with warm mix technology.

Cold Patch Asphalt

(Cold asphalt repair)

Cold patch is used to repair potholes and other pavement damage. As the name suggests, it requires no heating and is simply poured into a pothole or crack to about an inch above the surface. On roadways, the weight of vehicles driving over the cold patch repair can be used to pack the material, or it can be tampered with a hand tool. It is used by asphalt companies and do-it-yourself homeowners.

Types of asphalt shingles

Shingles can be divided into two groups based on composition: fiberglass or organic. Fiberglass shingles contain a base layer (mat) of fiberglass coated with asphalt cement. Fiberglass is the most common mat material (approximately 80% of the US market). Organic shingles are made of paper (felt) saturated with asphalt cement. Typically, organic mat shingles are heavier and contain more asphalt cement. Organic shingles are used mostly in the northern US and Canada because they are more flexible and less prone to cracking in cold weather.