Show me the shingles

Construction & Demolition Recycling, July-August, 2004

* A resolution requiring the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to assist any applicant attempting to open a shingle recycling facility in the state has been approved by the Environmental Committee of the state House of Representatives and has been sent to the floor for a vote.

The resolution states that the Missouri's goal is to divert solid waste from landfills, that asphalt roofing shingle recycling provides an alternative to disposal and that shingles have been recycled and used in other states for asphalt road base, parking lots, patch repair and dust control on roads.

Because these market opportunities exist in the state, the resolution asks DNR to not only assist those wanting to start shingle recycling plants, but to educate local governments and the Missouri citizenry on the benefits of using recycled asphalt roofing shingles compared to current landfill disposal practices and to review all permit applications and facility operating needs in a "timely and expeditious manner."

Dale Behnen, whose company Peerless Landfill in Missouri is a member of the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), has testified on behalf of the resolution. She reports it is a non-binding and hence a somewhat toothless document, but says it may be a good first step toward a bill supporting these actions by the state. Behnen says the state DNR has been supportive of shingle recycling in her experience.