A Marion roofing company is joining forces with the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency to turn old shingles into asphalt for road projects.
The roof-to-roads recycling project has been under way elsewhere in the country and has emerged in recent years in Iowa, the Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/sun4XN ). Joe Horaney, spokesman for the solid waste agency, said it hopes to divert 6,000 tons of shingles from the solid waste expected to be buried at the landfill over the next year.
Jeremy Bleeker, owner of Eastern Iowa Construction in Marion, has been one of the state’s pioneers in the effort and is joining forces with the solid waste agency to move the effort forward faster in Iowa.
He said data shows the agency will be able to turn 10,000 tons of recycled shingles a year into asphalt.
Horaney said the landfill diverted 500 tons of shingles in the first 10 days of November alone. He said the idea is to extend the life of the landfill and turn a waste product into something useful.
Eastern Iowa Construction’s spinoff, RAS Suppliers LLC, is among a handful of entities approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation to recycle shingles for asphalt paving, and RAS has been working on the effort for a couple of years.
The recycled shingles most likely will end up at LL Pelling LLC, an asphalt firm with plants in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Iowa City.
Chuck Finnegan, president of LL Pelling in North Liberty, said it has been incorporating recycled asphalt shingles into its road asphalt mix in the past year or so as part of a DOT trial.
Source: Chicago Tribune
By The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/