Can vinyl roofing membranes be recycled?
Vinyl can be reprocessed and recycled repeatedly. During manufacturing of vinyl roofing, scraps are routinely recycled directly back into the process or into accessory products such as roof walkway pads, making it a material-efficient operation. This can result in nearly zero waste from manufacturing. Because vinyl roofing membranes have a long service life, many are not available for post-consumer recycling. Nevertheless, there are several specific building refurbishment projects in the U.S. where post-consumer vinyl roofs have been recovered and recycled into useful products such as speed bumps and asphalt road patching material. As with any building product, the key to effective post-consumer recycling is to find a cost-effective way to collect, separate, and transport clean material for recycling at the end of its useful life. Members of the European Single-ply Waterproofing Association (ESWA) joined forces in 1994 to collectively organize the recycling of vinyl roofing membranes.
