by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a roofing business owner in Denver, Colorado, Kyle Shirley understands and embraces the innovative roofing products that can be found through the commercial and residential new construction and roof replacement industry. One such innovation making inroads in the roofing industry is the use of rubber modified roofing products derived from recycled tires. But the roofing industry is not alone – industries from recreation to road construction have turned to rubber modified asphalt products for use in many types of applications.

According to Shirley, the use of rubber modified roofing products that are made from recycled tires are actually more often used in residential roofing applications. The idea came from a new Canadian roofing product manufacturer (GEM, Inc.) in the early 2000s and was initially slow to succeed.

“But after they gained mainstream success, one of the major asphalt shingle manufacturers, Malarkey Roofing, took a liking to the idea and began using recycled tires in their own products in 2019,” Shirley said. The GEM Inc. products are rubberized/synthetic roof shingles and the Malarkey products are rubber-modified asphalt shingles.

“The use of rubber not only makes sense from a material reuse perspective, but the roofing products that result are some of the most durable in the entire industry,” Shirley said.

In recent years Shirley and his team at Sol Vista Roofing have noticed more specific requests from customers for the two known products that use recycled tires. “We are installing more roofs that are built from recycled tires. When I speak with other roofing company executives in my market, I hear them making the same remarks,” Shirley said. “The industry-wide statistics are not well publicized, but Malarkey Roofing (who just started using recycled tires in 2019) claims to have already diverted 2.5 million tires away from landfills.”

Sol Vista Roofing is anticipating more manufacturers to begin using recycled tires in their products. Shirley said the success of the GEM Inc. products increased this trend, and with Malarkey starting to include recycled tires in 2019, there started to be more buzz around the topic.

“With so many consumers continuing to ask about roofing products made from tires, it will be difficult for manufacturers to ignore. We’ve noticed how our customers that choose products built from recycled tires speak about their new roof with pride, and that mindset tends to cascade through the neighborhood,” Shirley said. “The old ‘we just got a new roof’ has quickly turned into ‘we just got a new roof and can you believe it’s made from old tires?’ which is powerful and carries weight in our clients’ neighborhoods.”

Rosemary Sutton, executive director of Tire Stewardship BC (TSBC), pointed to 13 new grants that TSBC has awarded to organizations that will go towards the rubber surfacing of playgrounds, parks and arenas, made from recycled tires. TSBC, a not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of scrap tires in British Columbia, said that in total, 14,928 BC scrap tires will be used for these community projects. Projects include surfacing of playgrounds, walkways, parks and gathering spaces.

“Tires are not going away, so the recycling industry in BC continues to invest and innovate to create products so that tires at end of life can be recycled into new products that often replace the use of virgin rubber or other less environmentally friendly products,” Sutton said. “We are very proud that BC is home to the largest tire recycling company in North America and is headquarters for the world’s largest recycled rubber mat manufacturer.” Tire Stewardship BC is pleased to provide financial support to organizations that have chosen to use recycled tire rubber for their upcoming projects. The 13 most recent grant recipients will use B.C. rubber for the surfacing of various communal areas making them durable, non-toxic, and low maintenance.

Every year TSBC receives more applications than funds available. As Sutton explained, the playground equipment industry and the installers are doing an excellent job of letting their clients know of this as an option for playgrounds and spray parks. In more recent years they also have seen an increase in the number of projects using recycled rubber flooring in arenas and also for pathways.

The objective of the TSBC program is to bring products manufactured from recycled scrap tires “full circle” back to communities. This is TSBC’s way of giving back to the residents and providing a surface that is accessible for all users.

“Coupled with this objective is the ability for TSBC to showcase what happens to the scrap tires,” Sutton said. “These types of projects start a conversation and very often with the children using the playground, spray park, arena, etc. It’s a great educational tool.”

Sutton predicts that they will continue to see the use of recycled rubber in these projects continue to grow as word spreads and the users and project managers see the benefit.

“We see many schools apply as they have students with mobility issues that without a rubber surface cannot participate in play,” she said. In addition, the government has recognized the importance of the play and socialization aspect of the school curriculum and offers grants to school to upgrade their playgrounds.

“Tire Stewardship BC is pleased to provide financial support to organizations across the province that have chosen to use recycled tire rubber for their upcoming projects. These grant recipients will use B.C. rubber for the surfacing of various communal areas making them durable, non-toxic, and low maintenance,” said Rosemary Sutton, executive director, Tire Stewardship BC. “Rubber surfacing made from B.C. scrap tires is also non-slip, making it safer for everyone, and it creates a soft landing in playground areas. Additionally, rubber surfacing is cost effective and visually attractive.”

Sutton noted that TSBC will continue to look for opportunities to partner with businesses that are making environmentally conscientious decisions and understand the importance of utilizing recycled products in the development of their community infrastructure. Since the scrap tire recycling program was first established in B.C. in 1991, over 100 million tires have been recycled in the province.

In addition to recreational applications, tire-derived aggregates are being used in some innovative applications as well. In 2021, the engineers who recommended the storm water management system for an apartment complex in Zimmerman, Minnesota, earned certificates from the Minnesota governor’s office for their unique solution. Specifically, the engineers from Bolton & Menk engineers recommended a solution that used tire derived aggregate (TDA) for an underground stormwater system that was built under a parking area using 84,000 tires recycled into TDA provided by TDA Manufacturing in Isanti, Minnesota, a division of First State Tire Recycling.

In addition, Bolton & Menk, also used recycled tires for Woodbury, Minnesota’s stormwater best management practices (BMPs). As Bolton & Menk explained in its news release, generally, TDA is a fraction of the weight of many soils, is highly permeable, which promotes drainage, insulates eight times better than gravel, and costs less than most sands and gravels, making it an obvious choice for road construction projects since the late 1980s. However, using TDA for stormwater management is a new concept. The state of Minnesota discards approximately 4.75 million tires per year. In total, the public works and parks maintenance renovation and expansion project repurposed approximately 210,000 tires within the underground infiltration system, repurposing approximately 3 years’ worth of discarded tires from the City of Woodbury alone. Using TDA in the project’s parking lots was environmentally friendly by way of reuse, in addition to lessening associated costs by 60 percent, compared to traditional stone aggregate.

Published in the August  2022 Edition

877-777-0043    •     Phone 419-931-0737    •      Fax 419-931-0740    •     1789 Indian Wood Circle #250, Maumee, OH  43537 © Copyright American Recycler News, Inc.  All rights reserved. Any reproduction of content requires written permission.