Owens Corning Advances Toward Circular Economy Aspiration With Enhanced Shingle Recycling Efforts

Owens Corning has taken an important step toward reaching its circular economy aspiration with the announcement of enhanced shingle recycling efforts. By 2030, the company intends to recycle two million tons of shingles per year in the U.S.  

“Owens Corning has a strong sustainability foundation and has set ambitious goals. This includes establishing circular economy business models that ensure materials in our products remain in the economy indefinitely. We are focused on bringing these breakthrough solutions to life as a critical next chapter of work in our sustainability journey,” said David Rabuano, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “Our mission is to build a sustainable future through material innovation, and with this enhanced focus on shingle recycling we continue to make progress.”

The company has launched workstreams focused on two methods of shingle recycling: recycling shingles into new shingles and recycling shingles into asphalt pavement. Both approaches intend to reclaim 100% of the shingle to eliminate product waste.

“We have invested in shingle recycling efforts through both internal expertise and collaboration with external partners. This has generated significant learnings that will enable us to accelerate our shingle recycling ambitions and advance this work across the industry to keep shingles out of landfills,” said Gunner Smith, Roofing President.

Recycled Shingles into New Shingles

Owens Corning is piloting asphalt shingle recycling in partnership with ASR Systems and CRS Reprocessing Services. Located in Indianapolis on the grounds of Indiana Shingle Recycling, the pilot, to be constructed and run by Indiana Shingle Recycling and CRS Reprocessing Services, will utilize several proprietary, patented processes for deconstructing post-consumer and post-industrial shingles to extract and reuse individual component raw materials. These raw materials will be transported to Owens Corning manufacturing facilities where they will be tested in the production of new shingles made with recycled content.

“We believe this approach will provide higher-value recycled materials than other methods, resulting in a higher percentage of recycled content used in new shingles,” Smith added. “We’ve proven it at lab scale and this pilot will help us move toward commercialization.”

Recycled Shingles into Asphalt Paving

Owens Corning is leveraging its expertise in asphalt innovation to increase the use of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) in the paving market. By working closely with paving contractors, Owens Corning scientists have provided technical guidance for incorporating recycled shingles in an asphalt mix design that meets federal and state paving performance requirements. Through this work, the company has diverted 40 million pounds of used shingles from the landfill into pavement since 2020.

“Dedicating experts in our organization to testing and evaluating the right mix design of recycled shingles in asphalt paving has helped to create a product that can stand up to the demands of the road. We are focused on proactively expanding this offering to additional markets to continue increasing the volume of shingles diverted from landfills,” Smith added.

History of Sustainable Innovation and Commitment

Earlier this year, Owens Corning published its 16th annual sustainability report detailing the company’s progress toward its ambitious 2030 Sustainability Goals. A leader in corporate responsibility, Owens Corning has been recognized for its sustainability commitments and results. This includes being the first company to earn the top spot on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List from 3BL Media for four consecutive years. In 2021, Owens Corning was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the twelfth consecutive year and Chair and Chief Executive Officer Brian Chambers was named Responsible CEO of the Year for ESG Transparency by 3BL Media. The company is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index with industry leading assessment scores.

For more information on this topic, please visit the Shingle Recycling page on the Owens Corning Roofing website.